Is it Wrong to Be Isekaid in The Dungeon (Title subject to change)
by tjmrocks19
Summary: Not all those who wander are lost. When a college student that is lost in life falls into a new, but somewhat familiar world, he has 1 question; why? Well, a few more than that, but he decides to take this chance that's been given to him, and not only survive, but thrive. He'll make the most of his situation and enjoy his new life. Assuming the dungeon doesn't get him first.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Well, that should do it for today." I muse as I stand and stretch. Closing my laptop, I place the machine in my back pack and head on out of the engineering building. As I leave the room I was just in I find myself looking out the windows of the 3 story building I'm in. Staring out at the sky's darkening colors I can't help but sigh at what my life has become. 5 years into college and I'm barely any closer to graduating than I was 3 years ago.

I don't have a dream, something I want to do in life, or even a short-term goal really. I'm just kind of… coasting. Everyone had always said that I should go to college, so I did. But… nothing really changed. My life has been the same it has always been. Sleep, get up, eat, go to class, workout, eat some more, do homework, and sleep. Well, I mean a few things have changed. All my friends have graduated by now, a few have even gotten married. But me? All I've got is a whole bunch of student loans that I need to repay with almost nothing to my name. Sure, I know how to speak 5 different languages, I get bored easily, and know how to break someone's arm 3 different ways, again I get bored, but other than that? I can't help but sigh. I simply… existed.

Sure, I enjoy hanging out with my friends and family, but… I don't have anything that really sets me apart. I'm just another face in the crowd. _'Maybe I could be isekai'd. heh, that'd be something.'_

I can't help but chuckle at the immature thought. God when was the last time I had even thought about something like that? A small, and rare smile breaks out on my face as I think about the times I would have dreamed of that kind of thing happening to me. _'Those were good times. No need to worry about the future, playing around like the kids we are, and just having fu-eh?'_

Suddenly, I felt myself begin to shift forward and fall. Looking down I realize that I had managed to make it to the stairs and had just managed to miss the top step completely and was on my way to a world of pain with a 50% chance of death. I wildly reach out with both hands in an attempt to grab something to stop my fall only to find nothing in reach.

"Oh fu-"

I felt something shift.

"-uck. Ow!" I cursed as I landed face first on cobblestone.

…

…

…

Wait… cobblestone? I feel a light breeze on my skin. My eyes shoot open and see a stone ground right in front of me. Ignoring the headache, I slowly prop myself up, ignoring the puddle of drool on the ground, and take in my surroundings and freeze. High cobbled walls to my left and right, clearly in some kind of alley though why it looked like something straight out of an anime I have no idea. Looking up, I saw that it was midday, the sun shining brightly, and saw what appeared to me clay tiled roofs.

"What the fu-!?" my hand immediately went to my throat at the higher pitched voice that came out of it, noticing the distinct lack of beard I have. Paling, I quickly pat myself down, a part of me notes the distinct rough feel of the clothes I'm wearing but don't really process that in my desperate panic to make sure I'm still… well, a man. It isn't until my hands go down under that I let out a sigh of relief. I have not been un-manned.

Unfortunately, that does little to help my overall confusion. My body, despite still being a man's, is different. Rather than the usual chub I had, I was no fat just a bit bigger most, I felt muscle, and a decent amount of it too. I felt better, stronger, faster, and… shorter? Being a solid 6 foot 3 inches before this, I couldn't help but feel that everything looks a little… big. Now, by no means was I a midget, but I most certainly wasn't as tall as before, probably somewhere between 5 foot 7 or 9. I quickly looked to my right and my jaw dropped at the reflection.

Looking back at me was a young man with golden hair, blue eyes, and a… regal face I believe is the best word to describe what I'm seeing. Well, it would be if it weren't for the gob smacked look on his, no, my face? If this was my face then… '_oh god, I'm a fucking pretty boy.'_

I think my brain checked out after that for a little while cause the next thing I know is that my face is flat against the ground with a girl holding a brown standing over me with a look of concern saying something.

"Hubbadawha?" is my oh, so elegant response. I look up at the girl and see a moon hanging in the sky behind her. _'Is, does she have silver hair? And why is she dressed like some kind of maid and/or waitress from the middle ages?"_ The lighting and my eyes could have been playing tricks on me, but the girl looked like she had silver hair and eyes. Not to mention what she was wearing. A green maid like outfit, a frilly white apron, some nice-looking boots, and one of the frilly white things that maids tend to wear that a cannot for the life of me remember what they're called.

Suddenly the girl spoke, and I blinked. I didn't understand a word she said, nor did I recognize the language she spoke, I should know, one of the few things I could do is learn languages and while I'm not necessarily fluent, I can ate least communicate in at least 5, can read 3, and can recognize several others when they are spoken. And this girl, she didn't speak any of them. _'But maybe I just misheard her.'_

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I ask, a part of me hoping that I could have just misheard her from having just woken up from my impromptu nap on the ground. However, the only thing I got in response was a very confused look. I tried German. Nothing. French, still nothing. No Spanish either. And lastly I tried Russian, my old roommate was born there so he taught me how to speak it so we could have secret conversations, but still nothing.

"Fuck me." I groan out as I plant my face in my hands, contemplating life and doing my best to quell my growing rage. The girl must have sensed my inner turmoil as I felt something tap my shoulder and I look up to see her looking at me with concern.

"I'm fine, just need a minute, not that you can understand me." I sigh as I rub my head. Before I can gather my thoughts, I hear a sudden shout from the entrance of the alley that we're in, I know it's an alley cause I've been in enough of them to know one when I see one. Looking over I see a 2 people that just make me pause for a moment. Both are adult males, that much is clear, but it's what they're wearing and have on them that cause me to freeze. The both of them are dressed in armor.

The taller of the 2 had black hair, wore some kind of leather on his chest, a muffler around his neck, couple of pieces of other armor that I had no idea what they were, and had a short sword on his hip. The other, a shorter and more stout man with an impressive beard and brown hair, wore what seemed to be full plate armor and had a rather intimidating hammer on his back. Their get up alone should have had me frozen in place from shock as the logical half of my brain rebooted to figure out why they were wearing that stuff. However, I managed to catch a glimpse of their faces and my mind instantly came back to life. Red cheeks, and lustful looks. Getting to my feet I glanced at the girl and saw her take a step back.

The taller man slurred something as he sauntered his way over, the girl taking another step back. _'Alright, I think we all know where this is going. Curse you morals.' _Sighing internally, I step between the girl and the guys, raising my hands. The guy up front shouted something, but once again, I could not make out a word of what he was saying. He tries to shove himself past me, and despite the amount of strength he has for someone so skinny, I manage to stop him. He pushes me back slightly, though I manage to stand my ground minus a foot going back for support to stop me.

"Now, now. Let's not do anything we'll regret in the morning shall we?" I ask with a nervous chuckle. Blacky here opens his mouth to speak again only for his companion to say something to get his attention. Whatever it was, it must have pissed him off because the guy yells at his companion before trying to shove past me again, with even more force. Once again, I manage to block him, but have to take another step back.

Suddenly the man let's out a shout of frustration and throws a very fast, but very drunk and uncoordinated punch at me. I quickly push the hand to the side with the hand on the same side as the punch and grab his shoulder with the other. Using his momentum to add to the force, I slam my knee as hard as I can into his gut. This causes him to keel over, his companion to give an angry yell, and my knee to feel like I've just slammed it into the ground. The slight crack I heard certainly didn't help.

Managing to keep my grunt of pain to myself, I grab an arm in an attempt to get him into a standing armlock only to have something hit the back of my head. My legs crumple like paper, and I fall down to the ground, still conscious. I hear shouting. I mange to look up and see the 2 men arguing and shouting before my view was blocked by the girl that I woke up to with a look of fear and concern on her face, the bag she was holding on the ground. Suddenly she was yanked back, and my eyes had widened when I saw that the guy had drawn his sword and was holding it against the girl's throat. I quickly look around and see the other drunkard sauntering over to the entrance of the alley. I looked back to the girl and felt my stomach drop when I saw the man beginning to reach up her skirt. _'Oh, hell no!'_

Not willing to just sit back and watch a young woman get well, you know, I force myself to my feet and feel around me for a weapon. Eventually, my hand hits something metallic and I pick up a metal pipe. Slowly getting to my feet to not make much noise, and because that hit to the head fucking disoriented me more than I thought, I sneak up on the rapist. In one fluid motion from years of training from tae-kwon-do sword training, I raise the pipe and swing down with both arms using every ounce of strength I have, hitting the guy square in the base of the skull. I watch as he crumples to the ground. I glance at the pipe, pleasantly surprised that it did not have blood on it and therefore did not break the skin. Guy may be the scum of the earth, but he's still a person and I don't feel like becoming a murderer… yet.

I look back at the girl and see relief in her eyes. Well, right up until fear comes right back and she shouts something pointing behind me and that is pain.

I must have been knocked out or something, cause next thing I know I'm waking up in a bed staring at a wooden ceiling feeling something that makes a hangover seem like nothing.

"Anybody get the number on that bitch that knocked me out?" I ask no one in particular as I sit up and hold the side of my head. I'm pleasantly surprised to find it wrapped up in bandages. Looking around, I find the room I'm in to be… honestly, I don't know what I was expecting. The walls were wooden, as was the furniture, with the room itself being just a little bigger than my old room back in my parent's house. The bed wasn't a spring mattress, feeling more like a futon, and the blankets were rough. I glance over to the side table and look curiously at the lamp, thing, light source (there we go) that was sitting on it.

As my head slowly begins to become clearer, not from the pain disappearing mind you, I begin to make out voices from the door sparking an internal debate between my self-preservation instincts and my curiosity. In the end, curiosity won out. Shaking my head at how bad of an idea this is, I do my best to ignore the pounding in my head and place my feet on the floor, which was smoother than I expected it to be.

'_Well, here we go.'_ I think as I push myself up, immediately regretting the decision as a wave of vertigo hits me and my head suddenly hurts more somehow as pain shoots through my right knee. I stumble a bit and catch myself on a dresser next to the table. Looking up, I see myself in the reflection. I'm still wearing the same outfit I had on earlier, and I'm still blonde. Actually, now that a take a closer look, I kind of look like saber prototype from Fate stay night. Golden hair, eyes as blue as the sky, and a regal face. Yep, I'm a saber look alike in male form. Not too sure how I feel about that.

I also note, that I'm still wearing the same clothes from before, but the shirt seems cleaner than it should be. Lifting up my shirt I freeze when I see what's underneath. Now, by no means was I fat before, but I most certainly didn't have abs of any kind, though the new muscle isn't what cause me to freeze. No, it's the fact that the single tattoo I got is still there in the same spot. You know Escanor's symbol? Yeah, it's basically that but blue instead of red and a small scar down the right eye of the lion. I check over my body, which was rather difficult with a pounding headache that I'm fairly certain was induced by blunt force and a hurt, but I did it. And other than my tattoo, nothing else was familiar with me. I had no blemishes, no scars, no indication of having lived through life even a little. The only thing that gave any indication of living was my tattoo, as if my body had been… reborn. But that begs the question; why? Why had this happened? How had this happened?

I shake my head and dismiss the questions; I won't get answers here, not like this at least. Looking towards the door, I resolve myself and force myself to stand on my own 2 feet. The only thing that happens is the world starting to spin and stumble back until my hand is on the end table for support and I'm clutching my head in pain. I don't know how long I'm standing there as I try to get the world to stop spinning, only that it's long enough for someone to walk in. I feel strong, but surprisingly small and soft, hands force me back onto the bed as the world stops spinning.

Still holding my head, I look at the person who helped and froze. It was an admittedly cute young woman of about 5 feet tall, dressed the same way as the girl in the alley, only she had brown hair and eyes, seemed a bit older, quite cute and you know, had cat ears! Blinking a couple of times to make sure I wasn't on a drug trip or wasn't hallucinating from the pain, I glanced behind her and sure enough, there was a brown cat tail waving lazily behind her. My brain might have checked out again at that point cause I was brought to again by the cat girl waving a hand in front of my face, whether it was the concussion speaking or just the shear shock at see a person with actual animal… features, that made my brain check out, I don't know.

I stared at her blankly when she started talking and took out a small corked vial filled with a blue liquid, placing it in my hand. I looked at it for a few moments before giving my best 'what the fuck am I supposed to do with this' face. Sighing, the girl took the vial from me and removed the vial and held it up to my mouth. I raised a single eyebrow at this.

Apparently, that wasn't the right thing to do since the girl gave what every guy fears… the look. I quickly take the vial from the girl and after one more moment of hesitation, down the stuff. _'At least this stuff tastes good. Whatever it is._' I muse as I drain the last bit before looking at the girl to see her giving a satisfied nod. It's at that point I feel a strange sensation in my body. It's not unpleasant mind you, if anything it feels nice, but it is definitely a foreign feeling. It doesn't take long before I feel the pounding in my head beginning to disappear along with what I felt in my knee. Pretty soon the pain was gone completely. _'Wait, was that a potion? Did I just drink a fucking an RPG health potion!?_' My look of wonder and shock, but mostly shock, must have been amusing as the girl in front of me started giggling.

"Well I'm glad I could be entertaining for you." I deadpan at the girl. Suddenly she stops laughing and looks at me with surprised eyes. _'Why would she be, oh, wait, never mind, this is the first time I spoke since she came in._'

I watched her say something before going back to the door and saying one word, something that I actually recognized.

"Mia!" she called out. _'Mia? Like what Mario always says? Momma mia, or something like that.'_ I can't help but think as the girl leaves the room. Still, my curiosity from before had yet to be sated, if anything, it's been piqued even more. Standing up without any pain, yay, I walk out of the room and into a hallway that reminds me of one of those inns from Skyrim. Hell, it had the noise of one too. I heard chatter from below me and on my left was a set of stairs.

Letting myself wander over, I descend the stairs into a, well, a medieval bar, or maybe pub is the better word. I take in the sight at the bottom of the stairs and freeze. I see armored and armed men and women, more girls wearing that green maid outfit, another cat girl this one having black hair, and everyone was talking in that strange language, probably to main spoken language here. But what catches my eye is the sheer number of races here, and I'm not talking about skin color!

I see people with long pointed ears, some with staffs and dressed in robes, others with light armor and bows and arrows. _'Elves.'_ I saw others with shorter ears that are still pointed decked out in a variety of equipment and weapons. _'Half- elves maybe?'_ Stout but strong looking men and women, most of them heavily armored, one of them having the most impressive beard I have ever seen. _'Dwarves._' I see an equally short man, but not as well built. _'Hobbit, or something similar maybe?'_ More men and women with animal features. _'Are those wolf ears or dog ears?'_ A tall intimidating woman wearing revealing clothing but lugging around a sword bigger than me. _'Amazon.'_

I was staring at people that should only exist in fantasy, in stories. Beings that were legends back home. And I was staring at a room full of them. A familiar voice brought me out of my stupor, and I turn to see the cat girl that had run out of the room earlier, the girl from the alley, and a woman that is, well, rather… large. Not large in the sense of fat, but large as in… tall, muscled and intimidating. Very intimidating. Seriously, I have never been more intimidated in my entire life than I am right now. I'll take back all those final exams I was going to have to take please. Standing at about 6 feet tall, she wore her brown hair in a bun, and wears a similar outfit to the other girls, but less frilly and the main dress being a dark grey blue and is also lacking the thing that the others are wearing on their heads. Actually, now that I think about it, they seem… familiar. So does this place, if I'm being perfectly honest.

The silver haired girl from the alley rushes up to me and grabs my hand saying something before pulling me towards the cat girl and the titan of a woman. I hear her talking at a rapid-fire pace, but, as expected, I can't understand a single word. Shame, she seems like she's having a blast telling me about whatever it is she's telling me about.

I see the brunette girl giggling and the intimidating woman giving a soft, almost motherly smile. Eventually, the woman said something catching the attention of the silver haired girl before said girl suddenly blushes and looks rather embarrassed by something. Probably pointing out the fact that I can't understand what they're saying. Yeah, that's probably it.

I gulp when the intimidating woman turns her attention on me. Now, I may know how to break someone's arm 3 different ways by using their own body weight, but I got the funny feeling that it won't help me here. She waves me over to her, and against my better judgement, I do as she says. Now, having been over 6 feet tall back home, I was used to having to look down on people and very rarely had to look up to meet someone's eyes, but being a good 5 to 7 inches shorter now, I had to look up to meet her eyes, making me gulp slightly. _'Dear god, she could break me like a fucking twig!'_

She says something to me with a smile in a friendly tone, at least I hope it's a friendly tone, and pats me on the shoulder. Slightly confused now, and a little less nervous, I watch as the woman continues to talk, not understanding a single word she's saying. _'I should probably let her know that I can't understand her.' Here's hoping she doesn't kill me for wasting her time.'_

"Um… you do know I can't understand you, right?" I ask hesitantly causing the woman to clamp her mouth shut. She stares at me studying me for what feels like eternity before eventually sighing. She says something to the cat girl before turning back to the silver haired girl. The 2 of them run off as the woman sets her sights on me once more, letting out another long-winded sigh and gives me a 'what am I going to do with you?' look. And honestly, that's a good question.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I look at the brown-haired woman and scratch the back of my head nervously as she stares right back at me. Eventually, she sighs and quickly motions for me to follow her as she walks into the backroom. Looking around the pub one last time, doing my best to ignore the looks I'm getting from some people in there, I quickly follow her.

"Huh, a kitchen." I state as I enter the room, to myself though since no one can understand me. "Honestly, don't know what I was expecting, but this does make more sense than anything else I could have thought of." I quickly add on as I look around the kitchen. It's… exactly what one would expect from a medieval style kitchen. Stone floors, wooden tables, a sink with running water, a-. I blink and quickly backtrack my thoughts. _'Running water?'_ I stare in slight shock as yet another cat girl, starting to see a pattern here, with gold hair is standing in a sink washing ceramic dishes. Running water in a place that looks like it came straight out of a story book? Ok, sure. Why not.

My little internal crisis is swiftly cut off by the very intimidating person's voice and I quickly follow it. I give a quick wave to the cat girl who gives me a confused look before entering what appears to be a, well, I think it's a break room. Maybe. Probably. I honestly have no clue. Like the rest of the little building, it's very medieval-esque, though I can see a few Greek-like bits of structure in the room, like someone who knew Greek architecture decided to help make this place using medieval materials. _'Or is it Roman? I always get those 2 mixed up.'_ I see a couple of wooden chairs, a table, more of those strange lamp-like light sources (seriously, what are those?), and the woman I was following digging through a chest full of clothes, for some reason.

Having my curiosity piqued, I quickly wander over and look over her shoulder to see a bunch of uniforms like those girls are wearing, only the main color is black and white instead of just green, and it looks more like a… guys… oh. I suddenly have a bad feeling about this. I feel a set of hands on my shoulders, then my sides, and my legs as the woman nods to herself before returning her attention to the chest. The bad feeling only continues to grow as she then hands me a set of clothes, minus underwear, though even if she had, I wouldn't wear it. I can't help but notice that her face wrinkles up when she gets close to me. Yeah, I probably smell considering I took a nap in a dark, damp alley all day. She then proceeds to grab my shoulders and turns me around before pushing me into a separate room and this is a bathroom.

I blink at how nice it is compared to the rest of the building. Walls that are mostly white, smooth stone floor, a full body mirror, a fancy looking bathtub that is built into the ground like something you'd see from older homes in the U.S., a couple of cabinets that look like they're straight from a carpenter's shop, and – _'Is that a toilet?'_ I think as I look at the wooden/stone pipe thing don't know how to describe it. Hell, I even see a sink and something that seems to be soap. At this point the only thing that would surprise me now is if magic was real. _'I just jinxed myself, didn't I?'_

The woman walks into the room past me, and opens a few cabinets, sifting through the contents. After a moment or two, she tosses me a towel and a washcloth, at least I assume it's a washcloth, and says something while gesturing towards the tub. I watched her turn it on and off with half-lidded eyes. _'Ok lady, I don't know the language here, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to use a bathtub. I'm not a fucking savage.'_ I think, as I watch her show me how to stop up the drain and unstop it.

After an extensive tutorial on how to use the tub, the woman shows herself out of the room and closes the door behind her. _'Freaking finally.' _I think as I make sure that the door is locked only to pause when I see one of those really old and stereotypical locks on the door. Sighing I begin stripping and praying that no one walks in on me. Having stripped down to my underwear, I stand in front of the mirror and inspect myself. Now that I don't have any pounding injuries, I can actually inspect this new body and test it. I bring up my hands and settle into an old tae-kwon-do stance. I do several punches, some light and fast, others heavy and slow, each connecting with an invisible enemy. I then move onto kicks, and much to my surprise, I move better than I did when I was actually taking martial arts.

I was expecting to be clumsy, out of control, maybe even a bit weaker than before. But instead… I felt light, strong, controlled, and, the most foreign feeling, flexible. Sure, I had always been a little strong, something that was mostly due to my size, but I was never flexible, and I certainly didn't have abs. I could barely kick over my head at my peak, I could never reach my toes when stretching, and would quickly get uncomfortable sitting cross legged. But now, I can kick well over my head, could sit down in the lotus position easily for a decent amount of time, I could bend myself in half when reaching for my toes, hell I put both feet behind my head just because I could! Not to mention watching how my muscles contracted or stretched as I moved. It's odd, you know. I can control this body that I've had for less than 24 hours better than I could control the body I had my entire life.

I continued to kick and punch until I raised my arm above my head and caught a whiff of myself. I was about to empty my stomach right then and there. I ended up dry heaving as I realized that there was nothing to empty. Yeah, I should probably clean myself off for both my sake, and for the sake of others. Filling the tub with hot water, after fiddling with it and trying to figure out how it works without electricity, I slip out of my underwear and into the water.

Sighing like an old man, I soak in the tub as I try to rationalize everything that's going on. First thing is, how did I get here? I was falling down the stairs at my college before landing face first in that alley but that's all I know. Second, I was in a new body and the only indication that I was ever me are my memories and the tattoo that came with me. Third, I look like a male saber from the fate series, not really too important, but you never know if you're going to need that kind of information. Fourth, I'm stronger, have more control over my body, and I'm probably faster too, though that will require testing later. _'Note too self, test other limits of body at first available opportunity.'_ And finally, I'm in a place that where no one speaks any of the 5 languages I know, nor do they recognize them, and it looks like something straight out of a fantasy world. Oh, and let's not forget about the fucking potion I drank! I sink deeper into the water when that thought crosses my mind. _'You know, I was fucking kidding about that isekai thing.'_

Sighing, I go about cleaning myself as I think of what to do. First thing I should do is learn the language, followed by learning everything I can about the area I'm in. As I clean myself, changing the water 2 times due to how murky it was getting, I can't help but laugh. _'Funny, less than 24 hours ago, I didn't have any sort of plan, but now… I not only have a plan, well the start of a plan at the very least, probably about 12% of one, and what was I saying again. Oh, right, I not only have a plan, but I also have objectives that have to be achieved.'_ I chuckle as I scrub myself down, truly, fate works in mysterious ways. I have to empty the tub once more before I finally stop smelling like sewage and dry off using the towel given to me.

Once dry, I put on my underwear and step in front of the mirror again, still not used to my new body. I watch as the reflection moves as I move as it, well, mirrors me. I stop moving and with a frown, stare at my hand inspecting every twitch and jerk as I flex each individual finger, I even try cracking my knuckles, something that I can't seem to do anymore. Heh, at least mom won't yell at me for that anymore.

I freeze when my mother enters my thoughts. Any excitement from testing my new body disappeared immediately when I thought about my family. "What were they doing? Did they know they were missing? Can I get back to them? Would they even recognize me now?" I muttered to myself, quickly spiraling down into negative thinking as I begin pacing in the bathroom. "Should I ev-oh shit!" I probably would have continued to do so if I hadn't slipped on the floor and fallen right on my ass.

"Ow." I murmur as I pick myself up off the ground. I rubbed my tailbone, grimacing at what I had started doing. I guess the stress of everything affected me more than I thought it did, I mean, I haven't done that since sophomore year of college. _'Great, does this mean I have to go to counseling again? Actually, is that even a thing here?'_ I muse silently, latching onto the thought, taking a few breaths to steady myself. No panic attacks, I don't have time for them.

Oddly enough, I find that I can still have a panic attack slightly comforting, simply because it's familiar. I stare at myself in the mirror. I'm still me on the inside, all those old insecurities are still there. Those little things that make me, well, me. I try to crack my knuckles without meaning to still. I'm still nervous around new people. I still over think things. I'm still me… but I'm not. Almost like… I was a newer version of myself.

Taking one last calming breath, I dismiss the thoughts and dress myself with the clothes the woman (God I need to learn their names) gave me. She must be a pretty good guess with sizes cause these clothes fit me like a glove. Black pants, black button up shirt, and an apron that goes around my waist, though I'm not putting that on. The only thing missing is a set of nice shoes. Now where's my comb-! I pause in my search for my comb and pomade. I give a bitter chuckle at how much of a habit that's become in the past couple of months. They may have a lot of the same comforts I did back home, but I doubt they have shampoo, let alone pomade. Shame too, this mop of blonde hair is a lot thicker than what I had before and that was hard enough to take care of with shampoo, but now it's going to be downright impossible.

Having dried off and dressed myself, I gather up the clothes I was wearing before, which I now notice to be covered in dirt, what is probably dried sludge, and blood, along with the towels, that were only a little wet, and went to find the very intimidating woman.

…

I really needed to learn their nam-"Oof!" I stumble a bit as I ran into something, er, someone. Oh, it was the girl from the alley.

"Sorry, didn't see where I was going." I quickly apologized to her as she said something in herself, neither of us understanding the other. We shared a look before sighing. This whole not knowing the language is starting to get very annoying. In fact, it would probably help me understand why she suddenly grabbed my hand and started dragging me all the way through the front area and back upstairs. She walks past the room I was in, not hard to tell since it was the closest to the stairs, and proceeds to drag me up another set of stairs before we finally reach our destination of another door. She opens the door, and drags me in.

I just realized how that could have sounded. Away bad thoughts!

Ahem. I take a look around the room. It seems to be a basic little attic room, a bit smaller than a 2 person dorm room, a single circular window, it wasn't as nice as the room I woke up in, but not dark and dingy though. It had a single person bed, a dresser with a mirror, a small desk and a nightstand with one of those light source things that look like lamps but aren't lamps. It is really starting to bother me that I don't know what those are.

The sudden absence of clothes in my arms caused me to come back from my stationary inspection of the room. I quickly looked over and saw that the girl from before had taken them, making a face of complete disgust when she accidentally caught a whiff of my shirt. I gave a nervous laugh and scratched my head sheepishly at the glare she was giving the clothes. At least until she turned that glare on me and I quickly turned away, whistling like I didn't see anything. How the hell do these girls have the 'look' down?

Shaking my head of such thoughts, I see the silver-haired girl point at me and then at the bed saying something. I raise another questioning brow causing her to sigh. After about 10 minutes of frustrated charades, I finally figured out that she was telling me that this was my room. That, or she was telling me to fuck her, but considering the likelihood of that actually being the case, I decided that the former was the more likely case. After having finally come to an understanding, somehow, I watched the girl leave the room with my clothes and stare at the door with a single thought in my mind; '_What now?'_

As it turned out, I was to simply go to sleep as no one else came to get me that night. As expected, I did not sleep well that night, but not for being in an unfamiliar place, or the lack of air conditioning, or for you know, being in what is probably another whole world! No, I had… odd dreams, dreams that I remembered long after I awoke. I dreamt of a life that was not my own, yet I lived it. I dreamt of fighting enemy after enemy. Of energy flowing through me, red lightning arcing off me. Of facing off against me father. And charging them only to be run through- my eyes shot open as I shoot up in the bed.

A cold sweat covered my body, silently glad that I had decided to sleep in just my pants. My shirt would have been soaked in my own sweat. I gulped in air as I felt where my sto-, no, that wasn't me. It was just a dream. Yet… I could remember every detail. The grip I had on the two-handed sword I wielded, the flow of magic through me, the lightning, and _pain-hate-anger-burning-betrayal-_ I literally slap myself as I try to separate my mind from the dream.

Still, it felt very real. Too real. Standing up, I flex my hand and focus. I focus on the feeling of that odd energy flowing through me, of the strength that it granted me. I focused, and focused, and focused. And… nothing. You know… I'm not really surprised. Sighing, I look out the window and see the sun just starting to rise over the skyline. I had no idea how early the sun normally rose here, but it must have been early still. I quickly grab the shirt, and only shirt, I have and put it on, rolling up the sleeves once I've buttoned it. Taking a breath I glance at the mirror. A frown paints itself on the face in it, my face, as I look. I shake my head. _'God, I can barely keep my thoughts coherent. Then again, I could never focus on a specific topic for long.'_

Exiting my room as quietly as possible, I tip-toe downstairs. The chairs are sitting upside-down on the tables, the only light is the little bit that's filtering through the windows, and is still familiar. The feeling of familiarity, adding to my already immense confusion, is still there. I slowly walk through the room, desperately trying to place where that feeling was coming from. Had I seen a similar set up before? Was it from when I went to London? Did I see a bar like this before? Was it from a show I watched?

I was so focused on my thoughts and desperately trying to make some sense of everything that was happening that I hadn't noticed that I had walked into the back room where the bathroom was. I stop moving and sigh. It's then that I notice a third door. One I hadn't noticed thee night before. There was a window on it and I could see the skyline through it. I open it and exit into a backyard, thinking that a little fresh air will do me some good. Crisp autumn air greets meet as I step outside. For once, I don't mind the feel of the cool dirt under my feet, thankful for finding at least something that was familiar to me. I step into the fenced area simply breathing and existing.

I hadn't noticed it last night, but the air felt… nice. Cleaner. Less pollution here. Stopping in the middle of the yard I sat down and crossed my legs. I closed my eyes and breathed. I began meditating. I didn't think. I didn't move. I just… was. I felt the ground beneath me. I heard birds starting to chirp. I felt myself calming. Finally finding the balance I had back home. Finally, I had time to simply just let everything that had happened soak in, and process. And finally, I relaxed.

I don't know how long I had been sitting there, but I didn't move until I felt someone grab my shoulder. I blinked my eyes open, the sun, while still rising, was higher than it was before and I looked behind me to see someone I hadn't seen before. No, I had seen her, but it was just a glance. Dressed in one of those maid uniforms, another green one, was a girl, a familiar girl too, with long, pointed ears, a beautiful face, green hair, and eyes as blue as the sky.

"Elf." I said in slight wonder.

"Elf?" I hadn't even realized that I had said something until the girl repeated the word until with a slight head tilt.

"Ah, uhm…" I scratched my cheek nervously and nodded. "Elf." I said, this time pointing at her and then my ear, and then pointed at her one more time. "Elf."

Her half-lidded eyes said that she did not find what I was doing amusing, nor did she understand what I was trying to convey, even if it was an accident at first. I sighed. Seeing as I wasn't going to get anywhere with thi-

"Ryuu." I stop myself as I hear the girl say something. I look at her and see her gesturing towards herself. "Ryuu Lion."

I point at her "Ryuu Lion?" I repeat, confused.

She nods and gestures to herself one more time. "Ryuu." I furrow my brow in confusion as I try to understand what she's trying to sa- wait. Is that her name? I quickly stand up and look at her with wide eyes.

"Ryuu." I repeat again getting a nod out of her. I begin grinning. "Ryuu." I say one more time this time, with a small bow of my head. She returns it with one of her own before saying something else and points at me. _'I guess I need to introduce myself now. Assuming that is what we're doing.'_ With a small smile I open my mouth and begin to gesture towards myself when I stop. My brow furrows as my smile becomes a frown. I think about my appearance. About who I was, what I looked like, and what I look like now. I'm me on the inside still, but… I'm not who I once was, not now, and unless something like this happens again, never again. I'm someone else entirely now. New body. New me. New name. After a moment more of hesitation I decide on the name that fits me best and give a slight bow. "Mordred."

**A/N**

**Woohoo! Chapter 2 is done! First off, I'd like to officially welcome you all to my new story. I've been wanting to do a story like this for a long time now, and no I have the chance. For those who recognize its inspiration, good on you. I've been trying to match their writing style for a while now and I think I finally got it down, mostly. **

**Now some of you may be going, why did I make the name of the OC call himself Mordred. It's because I personally find myself aligning with Mordred's personality more than I do Arthur's/Arturia's. Make no mistake, this is a self-insert through and through, unlike ADIR. This is how I think I would act in an isekai situation like this. **

**Now, to pairings! The pairing will be decided entirely by you guys by the poll that is up. If you don't like the choices, select that one and message me, I'll make sure to be aware of your preference. Now if no one votes, then I'll do it via random chance between the ones I've got listed. **

**Anyway, I've said all I've wanted to say, so thank you for the continued support! I will see you all next time! TJ out!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Mordred." The name came out of my mouth with a certain familiarity to it. Like I had introduced myself like that for all my life. My smile lessens but does not fade at the prospect. Ryuu suddenly grabbing my hand and dragging me back into the building breaks me out of my thoughts before I can delve further into them. I'm eventually dragged into the main dining area where I see the other workers there starting to set up shop. Speaking loudly, not shouting, just speaking louder than normal, Ryuu caught the attention of the others. After a little bit of herding and calming down the group lined up.

"Syr." Said Ryuu as she pointed to the silver haired girl, causing her to wave a shy hand. Oh, we're doing introductions now, cool. "Anya." She pointed to the cat girl that I met just after waking up yesterday. "Chloe Rollo." Next up was the black-haired cat girl. "Lunoire." My eyes were then directed to another human girl with brown hair and eyes as Ryuu pointed at her. "May." And there's the blonde cat girl I saw in the kitchen.

"Mia." Came a voice from directly behind me that may or may not have caused me to scream a little from surprise. I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment when I heard the others giggling at me, or in Anya's case, full blown laughing. I saw the intimadati- no, _Mia_ give me a small smile as I scowled at her. My blood pressure is bad enough as it is without her scaring me half to death. After a few moments of calming down, both my heart and their laughter, I find myself the center of attention. Facing all of them, I gesture towards myself and give a polite smile.

"Mordred." I say with a slight bow. When I stand again, my smile has turned into an excited smile and I see the others, minus Ryuu and Mia, have a similar one on them. Mia has a fond motherly smile that is surprisingly not out of place on her while Ryuu remains mostly stoic, though I do see the occasional tug on her lips.

After a few moments, Mia claps her hands and gets everyone's attention saying something. Probably something along the lines of 'back to work' if I were to take a guess. Syr then grabs me and drags me over to the closet and promptly hands me a broom while grabbing one herself. She says something as she gestures towards the main room before promptly going over to another part of the room and starting to sweep. I stare dumbly at the broom in my hand for a moment before going to the other part of the room and I start sweeping there. _'Starting to have flashbacks to my job at Taco Pete's.'_

Sighing, I start my least favorite chore in existence. I literally dislike it so much that I would rather go to actual hell than do this. Still, at least it's something familiar I can do. Being meticulous, I slowly make my way through the store, happily noting that I'm going at about the same pace as Syr. I glance at the other girls and see them setting up the tables in the area we've already swept. I listen to the idle chatter of the girls, workplace talk most likely. Occasionally Anya will let out a loud laugh, or I'll make out Ryuu's stoic voice.

Pretty soon, we've got half of the dining area done. Pleased at how fast I'm getting done, I begin singing 'From Now On' under my breath while I work and let my mind wander a bit. I can't get the dream out of my head. The feeling of battle, the sword in my hand, the magic flowing through my body, and the… familiarity of the whole ordeal, except for the whole dying part that is. A flash of red entered my mind as I thought about the red lightning from the dream. _'No, red isn't right. It was definitely like red but something else, something like, like…'_

"Crimson lightning." I mutter. I nearly jump in surprise as I a familiar feeling flashes through me for the briefest of moments and red sparks dance along my fingers and the broom. The feeling left as fast as it came, making me pause wondering if I had imagined it. Well, until I smelled one thing that confirmed; ozone. I heard a noise of confusion from my right and saw Anya looking around very confused, her nose scrunched up like she just smelled something bad. She could smell it too. I glance at the broom and see a couple of small scorch marks on it that definitely weren't there before. I look back down at my hand and stare at it for a few moments before returning to my task. _'Looks like I've got something else to experiment with.'_

It's not long after that, that I finally finish my side of sweeping, just barely taking longer than Syr did. I felt my competitive side flare slightly at that before shoving it back down and getting back to work. Or I would have if my stomach didn't suddenly sound like a lion that was rumbling. _'I honestly didn't think a stomach could be so loud.'_ I thought with a small chuckle. Now that I think about it, I haven't actually eaten since I've gotten here.

I heard some giggling to my right and saw Syr doing her best to suppress her laughter. I looked around and saw the others doing the same. Anya, however, had no problem with voicing her opinion on the matter if her laughter was any indication. I simply gave a small smile and scratched my cheek. Well, this is embarrassing.

It was then in short order that I was herded by the girls into a seat and had a large plate of food dropped in front of me. The smell of eggs, ham, and freshly made bread made the lion that is my stomach roar once more. After a couple of hesitant glances to the girls, I dove in with the ferocity of ten thousand starving lions, idly noting that the meal was served on a ceramic plate and metal eating utensils, as the girls watched with a mix of horror and fascination. I heard horrified whispers as I inhaled my eggs, ham, and bread, in that order.

Leaning back from my meal, I let out a satisfied sigh. I don't know if it was the fact that I hadn't eaten in nearly 3 days or it was just that good, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy that! "Well, time to get moving again." I quickly stand up and gather up the dishes before turning to the girls with an expectant look. Holding up the plates with a questioning look on my face, May quickly takes me to the kitchen and shows me where to put the dirty dishes before quickly returning to work.

Time passed quickly. I helped set up chairs, set tables, after a brief tutorial that somehow worked without having to actually talk, and I even learned how to run the bar. Eventually, the shop was opened, and a few customers started to trickle in. My job, once that was the case, was to take dirty dishes, clean up tables, and occasionally help one of the girls carry out food if they ran out of hands to carry things with.

All in all, it was very reminiscent of my job working at some restaurants back home. I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying, but I was happy to be doing something familiar again, it kept me relaxed. In fact, I actually enjoyed my time working for once. Just doing some random task without having to really think about it. And so, the day passed by as night quickly approached. More customers came in, and soon, I didn't have time to rest. I was constantly carrying dishes, whether they had food on them or were dirty. But other than that, the night was rather calm. Even when Chloe threw a 6-foot-tall man wearing full plate armor across the street like he was nothing. I'll admit that it took me a moment for my brain to reboot at that point, but hey, what's one more impossibility to add to the list. But it in all honesty, it was a quiet night. Well, it was almost a quiet night.

I had been clearing a recently emptied table when it happened. I was gathering up the dishes in my arms when I heard an angry sounding yell. I looked over and saw Syr backing up from a man standing in the door, his face flushed from drinking and that's the same guy from the alley. My eyes narrowed and I felt fury build inside me as my mind flashed back to that night but there was something else too. Something like… my honor was hurt and that guy's the cause.

I heard a second voice from behind the man and I saw the same guy that was with him before, I realize that he's actually a dwarf now that I'm looking at him and that he wasn't drunk this time, trying to hold him back only to receive a punch to the face as the drunk man turned his attention back to Syr.

"Hey." The man stopped and our eyes met, his drunken scowl turned into a full-on glare, one I was more than ready to return. "Pick on someone your own size ass hole." If the look on his face was anything to go by, he was surprised by my attitude, and honestly so was I. Still, the glare returned with a vengeance as he began stalking over to me.

I glared at the man, as he stood no further than 2 feet away from me and smirked. I don't know why I did, I knew he was stronger than me, it was instinctual, but a part a me despised how he was looking down on me. Like I had to… rebel. His drunken glare worsened when he saw my smirk. It was then that a very stupid idea formed in my head. I begin grinning like a mad man, getting no small amount of confusion from the man. Confusion that quickly turns into rage when I flip him the bird. Looks the sign for fuck you is the same here as it is for home. My smirk drops at the sound of a sword being drawn. I looked down and saw the blade coming right for me and I felt time slow.

_I saw a blade coming for me. I was disarmed and, as much as I loathed to admit, weaker than my opponent. Still, I wasn't quite out of tricks just yet. Mana poured into my limbs. I wouldn't fall here. My honor wouldn't let me. Nay, I would win this! For I was-_

The memory faded as fast as it came, but I couldn't dread on it. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I blinked, and then I moved; acting on instinct taking a step back and making my body parallel with the arc of the swing. It was easy. Simple. Like I had been moving like this my whole life. I felt the wind on my face from the force of the swing as it went by me. My blood pounding in my ears. My grin had returned in full force. I felt… excited? I had to resist the urge to laugh, exhilarated at the prospect of a fight. Well, right up until my legs turned into limp noodles and fell down on my butt. My arms supported the weight of my upper body, shaking like I had just gone an hour lifting my maximum weight. Hell, I felt like I just got through endurance day at my old martial arts school ten times straight.

I saw a brief look of confusion on the drunk's face before it was quickly replaced by a sneer. I felt the world slow as he swung his sword down at me. _'Well, shit.'_ That was a rather accurate summation of my thoughts at the moment. That was when I saw something that would stay with me for the rest of my days. I saw Mia all but appear over me and grabbed the blade of the sword in her bare hand and wrench it out of the man's hand before- _'Holy shit she just bitch slapped him out the door!'_ I stare in awe at what I just witnessed.

Sword still in hand, Mia turned to me with a look of mild concern. I felt my the back of my shirt get grabbed and suddenly I was being lifted up. I heard Mia say something as she set me down and legs are still jelly. Why is everything going dark?

_I looked at the sky out of the window of my room. I let out a sigh as I puffed my cheeks in boredom. "Mother sure was in a bad mood today." I mutter as I think about what had transpired just a few minutes prior. "I just wanted a sword to practice with…" I grumble as I turn back to my room. I cross my arms with a huff as I give a weak kick at the stone floor. She didn't have to lock me in my room._

_I look around the room for something to do before my eyes rest on a book. An idea hits me and I smile. I quickly run over and grab the book before sitting on my bed. "Maybe if I learn how to do a little magic Mother will get me a sword!" I grinned. _

_Oh, how naïve I was._

Unlike the last dream, I awoke slowly, a feeling of confusion washing over me before recognition hit. The room was dark and after a moment or two, my eyes adjusted to the dark lighting of my surroundings, Moonlight leaking through the circular window in the room that was given to me. "Another one." I murmur as I try to separate myself from the dream and remember what happened. "I was… right. I was collecting dishes when… and then Mia, ok. Right." Taking a few breaths, I collect my thoughts and I level myself. I look out the window and notice that the moon is visible. I look at my hand. "I should probably test this outside." I say as I get up and head out, closing the door behind me.

…

…

…

But first I need to put on a shirt before I go any further.

It doesn't take long before I find myself standing out in the back again. Rolling up the sleeves of my shirt, I stare up in the sky. It looks so different. Maybe it's because of less light pollution, but there are so many more stars and lights in the sky. I had heard about a time when the entire state of California had lost power from my aerospace teacher in high school, how you could see so many stars and lights without all the light pollution. How beautiful it was. And now, looking up in the sky, He was right.

"God, I wish I had a camera on me right now." I muse as I tear my gaze away from the sky. Right let's get started. I take a wide stance and hold out my arm, aiming at the wall. I take a breath and close my eyes. I focus on the feeling I had in the store. Of lightning arcing off my fingers. I focused on it. And focused a little more. Focused a lot more.

"I feel like I'm missing something." I mutter as I stare at my hand in minor disappointment and embarrassment. "What did I do before…" I think aloud. It was accidental, I know that. It only happened when I said crimson… oh. Hand meet face, face meet hand. Holding out my hand again, bracing the arm with the other, I take a breath and focus. "Crimson lightning."

I paused waiting for something to happen. "Whelp. That was a big load of fuck you." I deadpan as I begin feeling even more stupid than I was before thanking whatever god watching over me that no one saw that. Still, being the stubborn son of a bitch, I am, I still tried whatever I could think of to make it work. I tried meditating, posing, saying the phrase in other languages, hell I even tried the Kamehameha thing while saying the phrase. Nothing. Nada, zip, ziltch, zero! No lightning! Not even a small spark!

I feel a vein pop. Ok, calm down Mordred, remain calm. Let's not go off on a raging tantrum that is highly unbecoming of a 24-year-old man, or at least one of the mental capacity that is stuck in the body of a potentially hormonal teenager. You need to remain calm and put the stick down. Why did I pick up the stick? Why am I walking towards the wall!? Calm down, just calm do-

"Fucking son of a bitch! First I get taken from my home, get the shit beaten out of me, mind you that one is mostly my own fault, apparently potions are a thing in this world, and so is magic if I'm right-" at this point I'm yelling as quietly as I can while taking a random stick and hitting it against the wall repeatedly. " and after finding out I can't even talk to anyone here, the same guy that beat the shit out of me finds me and swings his fucking sword at me, that I somehow dodge-" honestly I'm surprised it took me this long for me to have my full freak out. "before passing out like a little bitch, and now I've spent the last hour or so trying to get this stupid crimson lightning to-GAH!"

***Boom***

The minute I say crimson lightning, I feel power course through my veins. _Mana._ I felt powerful. I felt my vision sharpen. Red sparks travel up my arm and into the stick in my hand before exploding out of the tip and into the wall I was beating on generating enough force to make the wall explode. Mind you, I'm like 2 feet away from this thing so needless to say I'm thrown back a good 5 yards, rolling another 2 until I came to a stop. I stare up at the sky on my back before slowly sitting up. I stare at the wall gob smacked before glancing down at the stick in my hand, red sparks arcing off it. Any pain I was feeling is quickly drowned in suppressed excitement.

Slowly getting to my feet, I hold the stick out towards the ground, making sure that I'm farther away from the targeted area. "Crimson lightning." Once again, red lightning explodes from the tip of the stick and into the ground, though not nearly as powerful as the first one, but it was enough to scorch the are it hit, the smell of burnt ozone filling the air. I couldn't keep the grin off my face after that. The only thing I had to do was channel it into something! And now, I had magic. I could use magic! I felt powerful! I feel great! I! Can! Do! Thi-!

"Ahem." My face paled as my celebration was cut a little short and my blood turned to ice. I slowly turn around to see Mia staring me down like a demon from hell, with a very tired and annoyed looking Ryuu right behind her.

"…I'm sorry." I squeak out only to have an iron grip appear on my head. Well, at least I figured out how to use magic.

**A/N**

**Well, that took longer than I wanted to. Then again, I had 3 different versions of this that I was deciding between, but it still took a long ass time. Anyway, I've got chapter 4 and 5 started and I'm debating on what to do next for A Dragon in Remnant. The next chapter on that should be out… eventually. I honestly don't know when I'll be getting to actually writing it, just that it will be once I've decided on what to do with it.**

**Anyway, onto the poll! I'm actually a little surprised with the results. **

**Eina – 9**

**Syr – 8**

**Haruhime – 3**

**Naaza – 3**

**Anya – 2**

**Ais – 2**

**Lily – 1**

**Haephestus – 1 (I may not do this one though simply because I like the story between her and Welf)**

**Eina and Syr were ahead the entire time, but they really pulled ahead in the last few weeks. As of right now the pairing will be Eina, something that will be beyond interesting to write considering how it is frowned upon for guild workers to date adventurers, and Eina's general reluctance to break that rule herself. Still, there are a lot of you guys that are following the story, but only 26 have voted, and I won't be ending the poll until well into the story, so things can change. As for you people who are thinking this will be a harem story, you are wrong. It will be a single pairing only, maybe double if I think the pair is reasonable. The only reason I'm doing anything close to a harem in ADIR is because of how dragon aura works. That's it. End of discussion.**

**Now, for those who were wondering if Mordred will get Clarent, I'm here to say he may get it, or he may not get it. I don't have it fully planned out yet, so just try and be patient with me. He will be using a two-handed sword though. Hell, his fighting style will be a lot like Mordred's in fact, just less rage-y and angst filled and more… focused.**

**Anyway, do the poll, leave a review, and thank you for all the support, I will see you all next time. TJ, out!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cracking open an eye, I breath out a sigh and stare at the unfamiliar ceiling of my abode that Mia is graciously letting me reside in despite my previous transgression last night. Still don't know how I survived that; all I know is that I did. Sitting up, I glance out the window to see the sun just starting to crest eh horizon. Standing up, I walk outside to begin working out. New body, new me, new routine, _new life._ I paused for a moment when I thought about that last bit. Yeah, new life definitely put this in perspective.

Reaching the backyard, wincing slightly at the destruction I caused to the wall the night prior, I started my exercises. Pushups, sit ups, squats, and even practicing my forms and combos, yes that was what they were actually called, from tae-kwon-do, still slightly giddy at the fact that I was so flexible now. As a guy who couldn't even reach his toes when stretching, I was quite excited to be able to do things that I thought I could never do. I mean, the only person who could do a 540 spinning hook kick in my martial arts school was an instructor, and he specialized in doing trick kicks like that.

Anyway, despite all the exercise I was doing, and practice with fighting, I felt like something was missing. I looked at the sun and shook off the feeling. I didn't have anymore time for practice. I'll figure it out later. Running through the combos one more time, I relax and wander over to the stairs leading into the building. Leaning back against my hands, I let out a tired sigh.

"Mordred." I blinked as I heard my name and leaned back, rolling my head back to see Anya giving me an appraising look, Ryuu looking at me with her typical stoic demeaner, and Syr with a very red face, her hands covering her eyes, not that her fingers were actually covering her eyes. I stare at them for a moment longer before looking down to see that I never did put on my shirt again. I look back and a dangerous glint in Anya's eyes and fully understand why Syr is blushing now. I don't know whether to feel flattered or annoyed at the fact that I never got that kind of reaction in my old body from three a ttractive girls.

Then again, I am-_was_ a lazy prick. I'm not going back to that. Never again. My eyes are drawn to the jug in Ryuu's hand along with the cup. I raise a brow at the elf as she pours a cup of something clear. I want to say water, but with how things have been going in the past few days, I wouldn't be surprised if it was some kind of liquid life or superhuman drug.

…

Damn it, now I'm paranoid. Standing up, I turn around properly as the cup is forced into my hand. I stare at it for a moment before shrugging and take a swig. Water. Just water. Not too sure why I was expecting anything else. I glance at the girls, Ryuu is still stoic, Syr's atomic blush went down to a red hue, and Anya was… staring at my stomach. Not even going to comment on that.

The familiar sound of a lion roaring fills the air as my stomach makes itself known. I sigh as the girls giggle at the noise. Sipping on my water I ignore the giggles and make my way inside. I should probably take a bath, but do I even have clean clothes right now. I know I don't have clean underwear since I'm wearing my only pair, but I was wearing the clothes Mia gave me last night when I blew up the wall, successfully getting my shirt dirty. Sighing, I walk past the bathroom resolving to take a bath once I have more clothes, or at least clean ones. Blinking at the sudden wall in front of me, I glance up to see that I nearly walked right into Mia.

The woman glanced over me and grimaced. A man handling and bath later, I find myself being led by Syr and Ryuu through the streets of the city in the clothes that I woke up in at first here, freshly washed I might add. I see Syr rambling on about something to Ryuu, who gives the occasional nod. Now that I'm not currently going through a minor, read giant, freak out about where I am, I can actually see the city.

It reminds me of London in a lot of ways, with how the streets are laid out but the architecture is mixed between everything. I see a stone church that you would find in Britain, buildings that look like they're straight out of ancient Greece, the streets are cobbled like Rome's, and I've even seen some complexes that you would find in Japan, sliding doors and all. It's like someone just took every culture from Earth and just slapped them all together into a single city with barely any planning. It was honestly rather impressive. But the thing that really caught my eye was the tower that seemed to never end in the center of the city. It left me speechless.

"Woah." Ok, almost speechless. I stared at the tower in awe, the mechanical side of my mind desperately trying to comprehend how a tower that tall was built. I understand magic is a thing here, hell I can use it, but something like that shouldn't have been possible. The tower should be visibly swaying from being that tall. How hasn't the ground given in from having that much weight on it? How is it supporting itself, the material should have given in on itself simply because of the sheer size! How-

"Mordred." I jump a little in surprise at Syr's voice only to hear a giggle to my right. With a glare, I turn to see Syr is the one laughing and that Ryuu has cracked a small smile. I feel my eye twitch slightly before sighing. "I'm glad I can entertain you two." I deadpan at them.

Syr simply walks up and pats my cheek with a sly smile before walking away with Ryuu right behind her. I stare at them for a moment before following them. These girls are going to be the death of me.

Ok, these girls are actually going to kill me. I feel my face pale as I stare at the entrance of our destination. Windows lined with clothes and just inside I see shelves with neatly folded shirts and pants. These girls were taking me clothes shopping. Now, you might be thinking, what happens now. Well, I did what any sane man would do and **RAN LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL!**

Unfortunately, Ryuu saw this coming a mile away and I quickly found myself running in place while Ryuu's iron grip on my shirt collar remained unchanged. For such a short woman she is fucking strong! Anyway, after a few more moments of resistance, I resigned myself to my fate as Syr walked in the store with a small smile, Ryuu once again just behind her while dragging me along.

After making sure I wouldn't run off, Ryuu finally released me and went to join Syr in looking at clothes. Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, I decided I might as well take a gander at some clothes for myself, more specifically, underwear. I needed new underwear, I had only been going commando for a few hours, but it was already too long.

After a bit of looking, I successfully found the men's section sense there are other guys here on their own and didn't accidentally wander into the women's section because I couldn't read the signs. Nope. Not at all. Moving on. Anyway, I began pilfering through the underwear when I realized 2 very important things. A, I didn't know what size system they used here. B, even if I did know what system they used, I couldn't read what they said thus making said knowledge completely useless. I know roughly the size I'd wear in my old body, but the size difference between it and this one is just too large to even begin guessing. It's not like I can really try them on either since it's underwear and all. I mean, you don't know if someone else has tried on that particular pair you're about try on. Why do you think that underwear came in sealed plastic bags at stores?

But that's all beside the point. I stare at the boxers on the shelves desperately trying to figure out which size fits me. It's honestly a rather big issue. I sigh as I lean back and scratch my head. I chew on the inside of my cheek, a nervous tick I have, when I see something unexpected. "100." I murmur as I desperately try to control my excitement. Written right there on the tag, is something I can read. Numbers. Numbers followed by a symbol, a V with two horizontal lines through it. Still, they could be something else. Going over to another wrack, I began to feel my excitement grow. I moved to another wrack, then another, and another, and another. Each one of them having something indicating a number and the V on it. Some of them had the same numbers, some different, but all of the recognizable to me.

Unable to stop myself, I grin and turn to find Syr and Ryuu only to have said silver haired girl appear in front of me. I blink as she suddenly begins to feel up my body, not going anywhere near my lower half thankfully, mumbling to herself the entire time. Too stunned at what is happening to actually question it, I stand as still as a statue while Syr finishes patting me down. With a hand still on my arm, Syr calls out to Ryuu before returning her attention to me. Now, at this point I had finally registered what had happened in my mind and I was beat red because of it.

"Hoh…" However, I quickly went atomic when Syr began making strange noises while squeezing my arm with both hands, the girl herself going a little red. It only got worse when people began to stare. Before I can do anything to fix the situation, I see Ryuu walk up with a knowing smile on her face.

"Syr…" Ryuu catches the girl's attention before saying something. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the elf is teasing the poor girl when Syr's own face begins to match my own, metaphorical steam pouring out of her head. Having had her fun, Ryuu turns her attention towards me and shoves a pile of clothes in my arms. I blink as I stare at the pile and quickly conclude that these are men's clothes. More specifically clothes that look like they fit me, including underwear. Before I can do anything, Ryuu pushes me past a still stuttering and steaming Syr.

The door in what I can guess is a changing room shuts behind me. I get the distinct feeling that Ryuu won't let me out until after I've tried everything on. Looking down at the pile of clothes in my arms I sigh and drop them on the bench. The first shirt I end up trying on is definitely on the smaller side. I hate shirts that cling to me. Still, it is a black tank top… eh, I might keep it now that I've got the body for it. I spend a good ten minutes or so trying on all kinds of clothes, before ultimately stepping out of the booth wearing my favorite one. It was rather reminiscent of Link's outfit, only blue instead of green. A short-sleeved blue tunic, tan pants, a brown belt, and a brown long-sleeved shirt underneath the blue tunic. Honestly, I'd probably make a great Link cosplayer back home, all I'm missing are his gauntlets.

Syr, having recovered, gives a bright smile at me while Ryuu gives me an appraising look before nodding. I guess that I picked a good outfit. Smiling I handed Ryuu the clothes that didn't fit me. She rose a brow asking a silent question to which I shook my head to answer. Understanding what I was trying to say, I hope, Ryuu took the clothes from me. I let out a sigh of relief when I see her walks away from the counter with a clerk standing behind it and towards the clothes. Looks like she understood me.

After quickly changing back into the clothes I was wearing prior to showing off a new look, I find myself simply standing there with Syr. Awkwardly I might add. Once again, I find that the language barrier is one of the most annoying things in existence. I glance at Syr and see that I'm not the only one standing there feeling awkward. Shifting awkwardly, I scratch the back of my head with my free hand. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Apparently, nothing. Not even a few moments later, Ryuu had returned, taken the clothes out of my hands and had begun to drag both me and Syr towards the counter. Not even ten minutes later, I found myself following behind two girls while I carried several bags, though they were my clothes in the bag not theirs, so there is that.

Trudging our way back, I stared at our surroundings. It still astounded me at how well all this slapped together architecture and engineering really managed to play nice with one another. The seamless transition between Greek, Roman, English, Spanish and several other types of architecture was truly something to marvel at.

We were still in the shopping district and the sheer number and variety of shops fighting to take my attention away from marveling at the buildings themselves. Even the people themselves were fighting for my attention, one out of three people dressed in armor often having a weapon somewhere on their body, and if not, were either carrying it or they had a staff or wand, at least I assumed they were wands. It wasn't until the sound of metal meeting metal did I stop.

I stared at a shop with a large window on it. Several people wearing armor or robes walked in and out of the building. On display was all kinds of armor and weapons, ranging from suits of plated metal to pieces of hide or large two-handed axes to a simple dagger. Yet none of those are what drew my eye. No, what drew my eye was a two handed sword sitting in the back collecting dust. It had a simple looking sheathe with red trimmings and black leather.

I blink when I feel someone nudge my arm. I look over to see Syr with a concerned look on her face. "Sorry." I apologized while patting Syr on the head, getting a cute pout out of the girl. Chuckling, I'm about to start going back to Mia's when I see something out of the corner of my eye. My mind is quickly flung to my discovery in the clothing store that I had somehow managed to forget about. "Syr." I say with a grin.

"Hm?"

I point inside the window towards a price tag. "2,000." The way her eyes widen would have been comical if not for the fact that she didn't immediately start digging through the clothes. She shows me another tag, which I readily read. "330." She shows me another, and another, and one more before finally, we're both grinning like idiots. She quickly takes out the original tag and points to the strange V marking next to the number.

"Valis." She says before taking out a single coin. "1 vali." I blink as recognition dawns on me and I grin.

I take the tag from her and gesturing towards it, I grin. "330 valis." I knew I had it right when Syr hugged me with a squeal, one that I ended up returning in my excitement. Valis was the money of this world. And you know what they say, money talks. In this case, literally.

**A/N**

**Well, that was a thing. I both enjoyed writing this chapter and hated it. I loved that I was able to get to everything I wanted to in it, and I'm satisfied with the character interactions, but hate how I feel like it was all condensed together and can't really figure out a way to fix that. Obviously, I like the chapter more than I hate it cause otherwise I wouldn't be posting it. **

**Anyway, progress has been made for Mordred. A minor form of communication has been formed, in numbers and money at least. Now, a quick update on ADIR. It will be a long time before I update that again, mostly because I've already re-written the beginning to the chapter a few dozen times and still haven't decided if I'm going to be do a time skip to a few years prior to canon, or the day after the events of the Vanishing Trailer. **

**Now, time for the poll.**

**Syr – 18**

**Eina – 12**

**Haruhime – 10**

**Anya – 6**

**Naaza – 4**

**Ryuu - 4**

**Haephestus – 3 (I may not do this one though simply because I like the story between her and Welf)**

**Ais – 3**

**Lily – 1**

**Before I say anything else, I just want to say this; I made the poll to help direct my writing. I'm not the best at planning, I know it, and ADIR is a direct representation of how poor my planning is. I know where I ultimately want this story to end up, but the 'how' is a bit… convoluted sometimes. So, in order to take out some of planning from my end of things, I had you guys help me figure out one of the factors for the 'how'. That is the main reason I put this poll up.**

**Now, a couple of things that are going to happen now with the poll. The poll will continue to be open, but only for a few more chapters. But once it's closed, I'm going to start gearing up for Syr X Mordred but I'm going to write the interactions between the other characters still. Many people simply like Syr, but her character may not mesh quite as well with what I have in mind for Mordred's as one of the others, like Eina or Anya. In short, there will be a lot of Syr x Mordred scenes in the up and coming chapters, but there will still be other scenes of the top choices. Now after a little while, I'll put the poll back up to see if the interactions have changed anyone's opinions.**

**Anyway, that's all I've got for you all this time. I'll see you all… whenever I get my lazy ass moving. TJ, out!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alright, so let's recap here. 1 week ago, I fell down some stairs and I ended up magically teleported into a back alley in another world face first. I then discover that I have also been magically transformed from a 24-year-old brown haired male, to a male saber look alike from the fate series. Oh, and no one speaks any of the 5 languages I know here by meeting a girl with naturally silver hair and eyes. Crazy right?

Well apparently, it's not crazy enough cause I then find out that there are mythological races are here. You know, elves, dwarves, beast people, and some kind of hobbit. Yeah. Oh, and now I'm having weird dreams every night about… someone. I don't know who, but it's odd to say the least. Now, at this point the logical side of my brain just went on vacation. I was then taken in by Mia, a very intimidating woman. So here we are, a week later and I'm starting to get used to everything here. I've settled into a schedule; have odd dreams, wake up, get dressed, work out/practice my magic/learning to wield a sword, meditate, help set up shop, repairing the wall I broke, which is almost done by the way, eat, go back to work, work as a bus boy at night, clean up shop, bathe, eat, sleep, and repeat. I'm even starting to pick up a few words. Anyway, at this point I'm thinking, ok, nothing else is going to be able to surprise me now. But of course…

"What?" Life just had to go and prove me wrong. "Why are you staring at me like I just grew another head?" asked a very well… endowed but short woman. She had black hair, bright blue eyes, and wore a one-piece white dress that barely covered her thigh with a blue ribbon acting as support for her bust instead of a bra, god that is distracting. Oh, and I could also understand her. Shit just got complicated again. Ok, so I think I need to rewind here a bit.

Day 3, it was the day after I had gotten some clothes and learned that numbers were universal, I had gotten up in the morning, early I might add, to start my new routine of get up, work out, and practice my martial arts. I mean, if I do it enough, it'll become habit and I won't have to force myself to do it anymore. Probably. Maybe… I hope it will. Anyway, I had come across something rather unexpected when I went outside that caused me to pause.

I came across Ryuu swinging a practice sword. I didn't do anything, I just stood there and watched. Her movements were obviously born from years of experience. I shouldn't have been able to follow her movements, they were far too fast, yet… I kept track of her hands, the position of her feat, how her shoulders twisted with each swing. It was quite an amazing thing to watch. As I watched her practice, I noticed something in the corner of my eye. It was another practice sword, a longsword practice sword to be exact.

Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed the sword and was walking towards Ryuu.

"Ryuu." I called out to the elf, getting her to stop mid swing. She paused a moment and looked towards me with a questioning look. I held the practice sword up between Ryuu and I, taking a somewhat shaky step. After a few moments, Ryuu nodded and held her own sword up. After a few moments of eyeing each other, I lunged. It was a simple downward swing used in some of my old forms as an opening, but the minute I came into Ryuu's range with the swing, I found myself looking up at the sky with a new bruise on my side and leg.

It wasn't even a contest. Ryuu's superhuman abilities simply did not allow me to do anything other than watch. She had knocked my sword to the side with her own and hit me in the side getting me to pause from the pain before my leg was taken out from under me. Blinking, I felt some burning indignation within me demanding that I keep going. Giving in to said feeling, I stood up again raised my sword. Ryuu acknowledged this with a simple nod before we took our stances again.

…

…

…

I'm suddenly regretting my life choices right about now.

"Yep, definitely regretting my life choices." An hour and about a hundred different bruises later, I found myself slowly limping back into the building. I have bruised in places I didn't even know I could bruise. "Christ almighty, she kicked my fucking ass." I cursed as I delicately poked a bruise. I suppose I should feel lucky that she slowed down to my speed after that first little bout, but honestly, I'm in far too much pain to truly care.

"Mordred." A soft but firm voice brings me out of my inner complaints. I glance up to see Syr holding wraps, gauzes pads, and all kinds of other medical supplies in one arm. Before I can even process that, Syr grabs my hand with her free hand before she begins dragging me through the building.

"Ow!" I hiss as I feel ointment pressed onto another bruise. I was sitting on top of my bed shirtless while Syr fretted over me angrily, well I think she is if the tone of her voice is anything to go by. I tried getting away once, but that was quickly quelled by Syr when she simply slapped her hand on my back aimlessly, hitting about seven bruises in the process. Her hand isn't even that big.

Day 4 I had just finished sword practice with (read getting my ass kicked by) Ryuu when Mia had caught me on my way in. In her hands was a trowel, you know, one of those hand shovel things that you used to put lay cement on bricks when making or repairing a wall… by… hand. Oh. That explains the pile of bricks next to the exploded part of the wall. I'm handed the trowel and a bucket of what looked like cement before promptly getting turned around and pushed towards the wall. I hear the door close behind me, getting a sigh out of me. I turned myself right around and walked up to the wall, staring at it. At least I have some experience in doing this sort of thing.

Day 5, I found myself in an awkward position. I'll give you bastards a hint about what it was. I was in the bathroom at the time. Yes it's probably what you think it is, and no, I was not the one who walked in. Honestly, I'm not too surprised it happened, living with several females, it was bound to happen eventually. I scratch the back of my head while looking off to the side, failing to resist the urge to look forwards ever now and then as I keep the towel around my waist up. I glanced forwards once more and felt my face go even more red, if that was even possible.

Standing in front of the door with a face as red as my own, her eyes wide, and standing stock still was one very naked Syr. Now, I'll be blunt, that uniform, it hid the female form very well as I saw curves on that girl now that she wasn't in it.

The both of us had managed to get a complete eyeful of the other. I personally will never be able to forget that image and have safely locked it away into my mental vault as an automatic response to said sight. I get the distinct feeling that Syr is in the same boat if her nosebleed is anything to go by. As a side note, I didn't actually think nosebleeds like that were a thing, but it was very interesting watching the blood spray out at first. I blame my sense of morbid curiosity for that bit right there.

Anyway, that does little for my current predicament. Once more, I find myself cursing the fact that we have no way of communicating with one another. But that is unfortunately not the case. Now we can only stand here awkwardly.

"SYR!" Without warning the bathroom doors slammed open as Anya rushed in and began groping the poor girl, and Ryuu poked her head and took one look at the situation before noping right on out of here. Either way, that was enough of a distraction that I could quickly get on my underwear. I did not see Anya or Syr when the towel fluttered out of Syr's hand, nor did I stare. I saw nothing. I especially did not see the cat girl's hands playing with Syr's boobs. Nope. Not at all.

Ahem. With quick and practiced movements, I got my pants on and noped on out of the bathroom before anything else could happen. I was certain that I was in the clear and not about to die when I felt an all too familiar iron grip on my head. I looked up to see Mia looking at me with a forced smile, Ryuu and the other girls just behind her. Well… shit.

Day 6, I managed to survive yesterday thanks to Syr coming out, still wearing just a towel, but that does very little for me today. I miss the internet. I miss being able pet my cat, I've had to actively resist petting Anya. I miss being able to talk to my friends and family. I definitely miss my phone. I blink at that before let out a long suffering groan at that. I sink further into the bed as I realize that I let out a low sigh in my bed, fighting of my bout of depression. I should really get up and do something, but I just can't find the energy. God, it's my sophomore year of college all over again. I should really do something. I'm just sitting here staring at the wooden practice sword in my room. But I just can't find the motivation for it.

I look up as the door to my room squeaks open and a head of silver and a couple of cat ears poke in. Syr and Anya. Seeing the silver haired girl, I immediately thought of the… incident that happened yesterday and I'm certain my face went red. Syr obviously thought about the same thing if her own red face was anything to go by.

Anya simply rolled her eyes at the action before pushing Syr into the room, said girl giving a rather adorable squeak of surprise in the process. I feel a flicker of amusement when I see Syr look back towards Anya with a panicked look. A ghost of a smile creeps onto my face as I finally got out of bed.

I looked at Syr, her face having gone full beet red. I quickly looked down and saw that I was shirtless, and once again I didn't know whether I should feel flattered or annoyed. "Just take the compliment." I muttered as I turned my full attention to the still blushing Syr. "Syr." I waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello?" She remained unresponsive and there's blood leaking out of her nose now… great. Sighing, I grab my shirt, the blue one off the nightstand and quickly put it on.

The sudden motion and lack of distraction was enough to bring Syr out of her stupor. The girl shook her head and promptly grabs my hand before she begins dragging me out of the room, grabbing the wooden sword on the way out.

I frowned as we walked towards the stairs. "Sy-" I closed my mouth so fast when I saw Syr give me a 'shut up and do as I say' look that my teeth audibly clicked when they met. This is retribution for yesterday isn't it? I follow Syr downstairs through the just opened store and right out the back where Ryuu is… waiting. With a practice sword in hand. Syr forces my own sword into my hand and quickly pushes me further into the yard. Nearly tripping over my own feet in the process.

Stumbling forward for a moment, I turned to glare at Syr who merely smiled innocently. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up and ducked. It was only my instinct for self-preservation that saved me from being hit in the back of the head by Ryuu. I rolled to the side and faced my now forced opponent. I scrambled to my feet and into a hasty stance, my arms reeling from the sudden force from another of Ryuu's hits.

I push of the sword and get back a few feet to stabilize myself, keeping my eyes on the elf the whole time. Before I realized it, Ryuu's sword was right in front of my face. I felt a full dose of adrenaline hit me and for just a single moment, time slowed for me. I stepped back and put my sword in a reverse grip as I raised it. A loud clack resounded as I was pushed back once more, though this one with more control. How the fuck did I just do that?

Unfortunately, that little bit of shock and hesitation led to Ryuu hitting about 3 times before knocking me onto my ass. I blinked up at the sky before frowning, some part of me feeling a burning indignation at what just happened. Gritting my teeth, I jumped up to my feet and fixed my grip on the sword. I took a swing at Ryuu, wild and uncontrolled but fast and strong. I saw Ryuu's eyes widen slightly in mild surprise when she blocked the blow as I moved her about an inch to the side.

'_Now!'_

I drew back my sword and switched to using only my right hand with it as I launched a left jab at Ryuu. She dodged with ease, but I had expected that and was already swinging my sword at her head. I saw a small smile and I quickly realized that I was grinning. My depression from earlier had vanished. Still, I didn't have time to think about that. The only thing I had to worry about right now, was on the fight between Ryuu and I.

I felt the wood in my hand shake as it connected with Ryuu's own wooden sword, my hand throbbing from the sudden vibrations. Still, that didn't stop me or the momentum I put into the swing. I raised my leg on the same side that I swung from and put all my weight into an, admittedly sloppy, roundhouse kick only for my shin to hit wood. Pain shot up my leg from that. I sucked in a breath of air from that and my head snapped back from a quickly jab from Ryuu.

I stared up at the sky reeling from the sudden pain. I thought about that last clash and grinned. Mixing in punches and kicks just felt… natural. I still lost mind you, and that burning indignation was still there, but it didn't matter. My competitive side was starting to rear its head and I had finally found my style. Standing up was a bit of a slower process than last time, but I did so all the same. Ryuu gave me a… is that a look of pride? Heh. I'll take what I can get. I charged the elf. We didn't stop that day until it was night fall. I ended up with more bruises than any other day, but I had the biggest grin on my face. I'll have to thank Syr when I figure out how to. Oh, and Anya too since I couldn't walk on my own after that for a bit.

Day 7, and let me tell you, those potions are the best damn thing in existence. I only drank half of one, but that along was enough for me to be back on my feet. I still took it easy with my spar with Ryuu this morning since I wasn't at full strength.

Anyway, I found myself stepping out of the boundaries of the bar/restaurant/home for the second time. I only had a little bit left on the wall to finish, turns out working all day on that with single minded purpose can make that go by really quick, and Mia had pushed me out the door with Syr and Lunoire. I had no idea where we were going or why, only that I had to trail behind the two girls.

I feel like that guy that got forced to go clothes shopping with his girlfriend and her friend. I blinked at that though and stopped walking for a moment as I continued to compare my situation to that scenario.

…

…

…

Fuck.

Ok, good news is that the girls weren't going clothes shopping. Bad news is that they were sent to go shopping for groceries. Thank god I'm stronger than I was in my old body. I heave a sigh out as I trail behind the girls, arms full of paper bags. I glance down into the bag. As a side note, how is it that a medieval fantasy world has enough industry that streetlamps and brown paper bags are a thing? Hell, I'm honestly a little surprised they're not using cars instead of the horse drawn carriages I've been seeing.

"Fre…"

I blinked as my feet stopped moving. Did I just hear… I shook my head. Nah. Probably just my mind playing tri-

"…uffs!"

I felt hope bubble up in me.

"Ge… em…"

I whipped my head around as I looked for the source of the voice, straining my ears to hear it through the passerby's.

"…the…"

There! "Syr!" I caught the silver haired girl's attention and placed the bags I was carrying in her hands. "Sorry." I knew she couldn't understand me, but I didn't have time to play charades right now. I turned on the ball of my feet and sprinted through the crowd to the best of my ability.

"Fresh Pot…" It was closer this time.

"Get 'em while they're hot!" I came to a stop and grinned. A girl, short, I had at least a foot on her, twin tails, eye catching… assets supported by a blue ribbon, and a white dress. There was a certain… aura about her, one that was comforting, like I had just come home. She had a small basket in hand and was selling… something. Potato puffs? Wait, if she was speaking English, how was anyone understanding her? No, better question, why does look and sound familiar? "Potato puffs for sa-huh?" She saw me just staring at her, her own bright blue eyes staring straight into my own sapphire ones. "What?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "Why are you looking at me at me like I just grew another head?"

I blinked and shook my head as a grin appeared on my face. "I can understand you." I quickly ran up to the woman. "I can understand you!" Nothing could wipe the smile off my face as the woman looked at me like I had lost my mind. She wasn't the only one either.

"Why are you so surprised that I can understand you?" She asked.

"Ma'am, if you've had the week I've had, you'd understand." I said.

She laughed a little. "Oh, it can't be that bad."

I raised a brow. "Try being forced from my home into a place where everyone speaks a language I don't know, and I know about 7, then the same day I'm forced out of my home I'm knocked unconscious, then I find magic is a thing, which isn't where I'm from, and-"

"WAH! Ok, it's that bad!" The short woman waved her arm frantically at me her face embarrassed.

Seeing that manages to bring me a small chuckle. "Speaking of languages though, how are you talking to everyone if you're speaking the same language as I am?"

"Well, that's simple." She smiled at me and I felt that aura she had grow again. "I'm a goddess, and every god and goddess is capable of understanding all mortals no matter the language." I blinked at the woman and stared at her dumbly.

"Hah?"

**A/N**

**Well, this took a while. Chapter 6 shouldn't take as long cause I'm finally getting to some of the good stuff. Anyway, I'm having issues with ADIR, again. Ugh. Anyway, this is done, ADIR is a bitch to write, fuckin' time skips, and chapter 6 already has over 1000 words in it. Now, the poll is closed for the time being, Syr in first place with Eina and Haruhime in second and first respectively. Anyway, happy late thanksgiving ya'll. TJ out!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I've never heard anyone talk like that before." The 'goddess' said.

"That's because I'm a very, very far away from home ma'am." I replied with a chuckle. "My name is Mordred I-"

"No it's not." The woman interrupted me with such certainty that I stopped mid step in surprise

"Excuse me?" I ask, staring at the woman. Her piercing blue eyes fix themselves on me, no, they stare right into my very being.

"That's not your name. You say it is, but it's not." I blink at the woman still holding the basket of potatoes in slight shock.

"How…"

"I told you before, I'm a goddess. I can tell when someone is lying about things like this." She replied.

I looked at the woman for what felt like forever until finally sighing. "Well, you're correct on that matter. Mordred is not the name I was born with." I admitted as we moved out of the main sidewalk, she had apparently met her quota for the day and had a little free time now. "Mordred is the name I gave myself when I was… brought to this city." I said, sitting down on a bench, the woman sitting beside me.

I saw her raise a single brow when I said that. "You make it sound like you didn't mean to come here."

"Well, you'd be right in that regard." I told her. "I had just finished a rather long day at my school when I had found myself falling down a flight of stairs." I glanced at the woman, god I needed to learn her name, to make she was still listening and not looking at me like I had five heads. "A fall down a few flights of stairs probably would have ended my life then and there, or at the very least crippled me. But instead I felt something shift." I had full attention now. "Instead of landing on the stairs, I fell onto a cobbled street, an alleyway to be exact. And when I looked into a window, I saw my reflection. I saw that… I didn't look like me anymore."

"You didn't look like you?" She asked. She wasn't accusing me of lying yet, and I took that as a good sign.

"I originally had brown hair, green eyes, and was a tad overweight." I admitted remembering how out of shape I was despite all my efforts. "And when I looked into the window, I saw… well, this." I gestured towards myself. "I may or may not have fainted again once I realized I was looking into a reflection." I smiled when I heard her snort to stifle a laugh. "After that I was found by Syr, attacked by a couple of armored people-"

"Adventurers." She supplied and I nodded.

"Adventurers, right. I was knocked out, and then woke up in a room above a bar owned by a woman called Mia. I've been getting my feet back under me there thanks to Mia and the others." I said with a sigh. "It was on the second day that I had given myself the name 'Mordred'."

"Why?"

"Because I wasn't me anymore." I had a sad smile on my face at this point. "I may be me on the inside still, but… I wasn't going to be the me from before ever again. So, I told myself new body, new me, new life… new name." I looked down at my hands. "So… I'm Mordred now."

She looked at me with a critical eye, as if she was judging my very existence. "I see. You're not lying… Hm." She continued to stare at me for a few moments before nodding. "Very well, nice to meet you Mordred." The woman held out a hand to me. "I'm the goddess Hestia, patron god of the Hestia Familia. Pleasure to meet you."

I smiled. "Nice to meet you as well Hestia." I gripped her hand within my own. "Now what was that about being a goddess?" I ask.

I immediately regretted my question the minute I saw the prideful look on her face. "Well, since you asked…"

"Abridged version please." I couldn't help the small laugh when I saw her pout at my request, but the small woman agreed to my request all the same.

"Ok… let me make sure I got this right." I said pinching the bridge of my nose. "You and a whole bunch of other gods came down from heaven to give us mortals, whom you all refer to as children, your blood, forming groups called familia, to allow us to dive into a dungeon that will 9 times out of 10 lead to our untimely, and usually painful, demise, because you're all bored." I looked towards the now introduced Hestia, one of the few gods I actually liked based on their legend alone, with a questioning look. "Did I miss anything?"

"A lot, but that's about everything I've told you." The goddess had the decency to look sheepish after that. "Though, when you put it like that it sounds pretty bad… like we're just sending a lot of children to their deaths for no good reason." I watched with half lidded eyes as she poked the ends of her fingers together.

"At least you recognize that. Still, it's their choice, not yours, so don't lose any sleep over it." I told Her.

I watched as the diminutive Goddess brightened slightly at my words. "I suppose."

We share a small smile and I quickly realize something. "Hey, He- erm, lady Hestia?"

"Yes."

"Do you think you can help me learn to spe-"

"MORDRED!" A shout of feminine fury interrupts me, and I can practically feel my blood leave my face. Hestia Herself isn't unaffected either as Her eyes became pinpricks as she looked behind me shaking in her spot. Feeling that something akin to an eldritch abomination is standing behind me I slowly turn around and see Syr standing right behind me, with a smile that is far too terrifying.

With an audible gulp I slowly raise my hand. "H-Hi Syr." The threatening aura around her simply grew more intense.

One thorough scolding, at least I think it was a scolding, later I find myself trailing behind the two girls, now carrying everything. Hestia bailed within a minute into the scolding saying she'd go to where I'm staying to answer anymore questions. Syr paused long enough in her scolding to thank Hestia and said that she'd vouch for me to get me off early. While I wanted to stay and simply just chat with Hestia, turns out a week of not understanding anyone can me even an introvert like myself seeking socialization, Syr didn't give me a choice.

"Sorry." I said despite knowing that they wouldn't understand me, slowly trailing behind Syr and Lunoire, the former making a point to look away from me, obviously annoyed by my actions, while the latter looked between us with mild amusement.

"Hmph!" That was the only response I received from the silvernette and a small pat on the back from Lunoire. Sighing I glanced towards the direction we left Hestia, a frown marring my face. She was… familiar to me. Her mannerisms, her voice, just everything if I'm honest. But I know for a fact that I would have remember a person like that if I ever met them. So why was she familiar? Maybe I saw someone on a show that looked like her. I felt the answer on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't quite figure out where it came from.

I shook my head; I'll figure it out later. I glanced back towards the two girls in front of me, chatting away, though in hushed tones. Eventually, I saw Syr glance back towards me when Lunoire started grinning when she said something. Lunoire whispered into Syr's ear as the girl glanced back at me and her face went red.

"Lunoire!" Help but chuckle when Syr yelled out her friend's name and started stammering like a high school girl meeting her crush for the first time. My mind went back to my own days in high school at the thought. You know, I wonder how they'd react to my world. It'd be funny as hell for my friends to meet them. I had to resist the urge to laugh out loud when I thought of Pierce meeting a real cat girl like Anya.

Dude would probably pass out on the spot or ask her to let him touch her ears. God knows I have to resist the urge to pet the girl, especially when she acts like an actual cat sometimes. I let a nostalgic smile onto my face as I remembered my friends. The lot of idiots that we were. We were always interested in anime and manga, though the manga was mostly me. Never had the patience to wait for the next season of anime. Especially fantasy.

I looked towards the tower in the center of the city. I felt my magic pulse a little with my emotions. I scanned the crowd, armored or robed men and women traversing the roads. A world that functions much like our own, many of the same creature comforts, but still uses swords and spells. One of unlimited possibility.

They'd love it here. I frowned, why was I thinking of that just now.

"Mordred?" I turned to see Syr actually looking at me. I quickly realize that I had stopped walking. A sad smile appeared, and I simply patted her head after shifting the bags in my arm before walking past the girl and towards the bar. I needed to clear my head.

The minute we got back to the hostess, I had asked Ryuu through a series of charades for a quick spar, and after a brief conversation with Mia, I had my ass handed to me again. I felt much better after that.

…

…

…

Mentally I mean, physically I was in immense pain. I really need to find a sparring partner on my level. Sighing, I picked myself off the ground. Ryuu had long since gone into the store, not even working up a light sweat from sparring with me.

I rub my side with a grimace as I walk back in. I'm going to land a hit on that girl, whether it is my sword or my fist, I'm going to land one hit during our spars. Throwing in kicks and punches is surprisingly… natural. Not that it helps that much, freaking Ryuu and her superhuman abilities. Still, I was improving. I wasn't quite flailing about anymore with my sword, though I was a far cry from actually using it properly.

Heading into the bathroom, I splash water onto my face to freshen up without taking a second shower today. I should have about an hour before the dinner rush starts and maybe another hour till Hestia shows up, maybe sooner if she can run out of puffs to sell. Hopefully rush hour won't be too bad.

Rush hour was that bad. I don't know what happened that day, but someone must have called in or made reservations, cause they had to get me to help take the food instead of just cleaning up.

"Mordred, 4." I'm handed some platters by Chloe, who then grabs two more plates herself and I follow behind. The entire bar is filled to the brim with people, adventurers according to Hestia. Anyway, I quickly placed the food where directed by Chloe before having to all but run over to another table and clear it.

"Oh man, I knew this place was popular, but I didn't think that there'd be a bunch of adventurers here…" I nearly dropped the plates I was carrying when I heard Hestia's voice through the crowd. Well shit, she's early. I blinked. Huh, never thought I'd ever have that thought until I had a girlfriend. I quickly dropped off the plates I had in hand in the kitchen before running out to meet up with Hestia. "Oh, Mordred!" Hestia gave me a small smile. "You look busy.

"Insanely so. Once it dies down a bit, I'll get back to you, in the meantime, you want anything?" I ask the petite woman.

"um… is there anything I can get for free?" She asks.

I level a dead look at her. "Water."

"Urk!" I resist the urge to laugh at the noise she makes. She clasps her hands together and looks at me with puppy dog eyes. "Are you sure you can't make an exception for the goddess that's helping you out?"

The look on my face now resembles that of a fish that's been dead for about a week. "You can get water." She withers under my look and precedes to nod. It's at this point that a cruel thought appears in my head and I smile. "Thank you for your patronage." I can't resist the cackle that bubbles up when I see Hestia whither just a little bit more than before. Having had my fun I throw the poor Goddess a bone. "Ok, how about this?" I said getting Her attention. "I'll get you some water and if you can convince Mia, then I'll upgrade you to some beer and maybe some food. Deal?" The look of absolute joy in her eyes gets me to chuckle and I go to find Mia. I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship.

"Thanks for waiting." I started as I sat across the table from Hestia. The rush of customers had finally ended. Hestia ended up waiting about an hour before it started dying down. My legs wanting to cave in from a mix of muscle awareness and bruises didn't help. I almost regret the extra training session with Ryuu. Almost. Anyway, I had a thing of water myself since I kind of wanted to be sober for this. Well, that and I don't know my alcohol tolerance anymore with this body.

"You're welcome." She sent a small smile my way before drinking some of Her ale, She managed to convince Mia to upgrade Her. "So, what other questions do you have?"

I smiled at Her. "Less of a question, more of a request." I said. "I'm… in need of a direction I suppose. I've already told you how I was taken from my home. Thing is… I don't know if I want to go back, even if I knew how." I said slowly. I set my jaw as a small war waged inside me, one part wanting to return to my family, let them know I'm alright the other… I had dreamed of things like this happening to me. I have a chance now to be something that no one else back home was or is. I can be… someone here. I shook my head. "But don't know how to get home and I'm here. If I'm going to learn anything about that I must be able to speak and read the local language. It's not something that I can really afford not do." I pause. "And honestly… I'm hesitant to even ask for help. I already owe Mia and the others here a lot. They put a roof over my head and food in my mouth when I had nowhere to go and would have starved. But… I have little choice." I blink a moment before cringing at that last sentence. God, that sounded cringy. "So, I'd like your help Lady Hestia."

I could practically see the small goddess straighten in her seat, the slight flush from the alcohol disappearing from her face as she looked at me and- I blinked. Hestia had changed. Not physically I mean, she was still that short woman like she had been, but the air around had become… I don't know, it changed that's the best I can really explain it. "Very well. I've heard your prayer and now I answer. You have my assistance."

"Wait… that's all you need?" Hestia looked at me in minor surprise when I told her what I wanted.

"Yep, I just need the alphabet, a couple of children's books, and for you to make sure that I'm matching the letters to one another correctly." Hestia looks at me at that and sighs.

"Ok, if that's all you need, then sure." Hestia nods in agreement.

I look at the crowd and then out the window. "It's starting to get late, but if you can spare a little bit longer… then I have a couple more questions and I'd like to know a bit more about where I am right now."

Hestia tilted her head and tapped her chin before a devious grin appears on her face and lifts her mug. "Well… if you can get me another one of these and maybe a little bit of food to go, then sure!" I can't help but to return her smirk.

"As you wish Lady Hestia."

**A/N**

**Well, that took significantly longer than it should have. I apologize for the delay in getting this out, I had wanted to write a few more chapters before releasing this one so I could focus more on school, but the next chapter ended up getting corrupted when my subscription for word ran out. 5,000+ words down the drain. Anyway, I've started up college again, and this semester is going to be a doozy. I'm switching over to google docs now, and I've just about got the first chapter for black dragon of Remnant just about done, but none of the character shorts I'm writing. That's all I've got for now so I will see you all next time! TJ, out!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"GODS DAMN IT BELL!" I cursed as I ran for dear life.

"I'm sorry!" Cried the albino right beside me. Two days, I had spent two days in the dungeon, and for some reason Bell had managed to convince me to go down an additional level against the advice of our advisor. You know, the person who is supposed to give us information and try to keep us from doing stupid shit like this. Part of me blames Bell, I won't lie. But honestly, it's my fault. I knew he was naive and stupidly hopeful; I knew he was. I could have convinced him to not go down another floor. Instead, I listened to him.

"We'll be fine." He said, "We've done well today." he said. "Things only start picking up on floor 6" he said. Well, to be fair he was right for the most part. Between the two of us, we were able to handle most things the dungeon threw at us. It wasn't until a monster had come up from at least **4 floors lower** than our own that we started panicking.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. "Oh, shit!" I ducked under a fur covered arm, doing my best to shield myself from the dust and rocks that erupted from the wall when it slammed into it. Bell was just a tad faster than me, most likely due to his 3 day seniority over me, so I was the only one having to dodge and weave. On the plus side, I was getting really good at doing a tuck and roll into a full sprint while wearing armor. Oh, and having a sword strapped to my side. Can't forget that.

I glanced behind me and paled as I saw the minotaur, a beast that was a good _**8 feet tall, its biceps about as big as my fucking head**_ ripped its arm out of the wall and roared before barreling after us. I whipped my head back forwards and reached for my magic. Red lightning arced off me as I boosted my speed using a skill/magic, Hestia called it burst I think. Either way, I was risking mind down at this point, but we were in a straight run and this thing was much faster than us in a straight line. "Must go faster!" I yelled at Bell, causing the boy to look behind us, his already white face somehow becoming whiter.

"EEP!" And faster he went. I could barely keep up with the kid, the skill I was using didn't like to work over long distances, the fact that I can even use it like I am right now is nothing short of a blessing.

"Bell, I'm going to fucking kick your ass when we make it out of this!" I screamed. It was as Bell shrieked in terror again that I saw it, our out. A single corridor coming up to our right. "Bell, go right!" I yelled at the boy.

"Huh!?" Oh now he chooses to not hear me!

"FUCK IT!"" I scream in english, slamming into Bell, sending the both of us into the corridor. Bell had barely stumbled and was quickly running again, myself not really breaking stride. I heard something crack behind me as we ran followed by a loud crash. Well, those are good sounds. Right?

I glanced behind me to see and even more enraged minotaur as it picked itself up from the ground. Well, that bought us, what… 8 more seconds? Yeah, not a lot of time, but every second counts in situations like this. All we had to do was keep running. Slowing down is death.

_**MOOOOOOOOOOOAR**_

I felt my core shake when the damn thing let out a combination of a roar and moo, which in any other situation would have been hilarious to hear. Maybe when I'm level 3 or something I'll go find another one and see if I can't hear it again. Get a good laugh then. That being said, I still felt laughter try to bubble up anyway. Damn thing sounded like a lion and cow had a child and that image just made me want to start cackling. Well, right up until I felt the ground start to shake as our pursuer started to gain on us again. And that's a dead end. Fuck my life.

Bell and I skid to a stop as we stare at the wall, a pit of dread appearing in my stomach. The gallop behind us slows to a walk, and four limbs hitting the ground becomes two. Bell and I slowly start turning around and yup. There it is. "Oh, crap baskets." Bell's low whine clearly voices his agreement with my statement.

Now… you all may be wondering how I got myself into this situation. Well, that's not that long of a story actually.

_**4 days ago...**_

"I should thank Hestia the next time I see Her." I told myself as I slowly but surely translated a children's book. 2 weeks. That's how long it's been since I met Hestia and in that time, I've found myself owing the diminutive goddess as much as Mia. Everyday after work Hestia had found time to come over and help me learn to read the language. Between Her and Syr, I've slowly been figuring out how to read and speak the language. Syr's been helping me learn how to speak them, Hestia to read.

Well… I say slowly, but I'm actually learning it far faster than I expected. Immersive learning is actually a thing I guess. That… or it wasn't just my body that was enhanced, but so was my ability to learn and adapt. It's an odd language. It has little nuances from several different languages, like someone had just mashed them together to make it. I don't quite have the language down, but I can at least communicate my intentions now. Ryuu can even offer me advice about improving my swordsmanship now. Well, my ability to fight anyway considering I'm more of a brawler than a swordsman. Still, being able to use a sword properly is useful.

"Hello Mordred!" Came the familiar greeting I'd come to associate with Hestia. Grateful for the distraction, I look up from my book with a tired smile.

"Hello Lady Hestia." I replied as I closed the book. I blinked when I noticed the person with her. White hair, red eyes, pale skin, no older than 14. "And who might this be?" I ask with a raised brow.

"This is Bell Cranel, and the first child to join my familia as of 4 days ago!" She announced happily as she grabbed the poor boy's arm, Bell lighting up an impressive shade of red in the process. "Bell, meet Mordred, Morded meet Bell." She said with a blinding smile.

I blinked. She was oddly… cheerful, more than usual. I'll ask her about it later. For now, I just smiled and stood up. "Nice to meet you Bell." I said in the local language.

He looked a little startled and confused before looking towards Hestia in confusion. "You said 'Nice to you meet Bell.'" She explained and I winced.

"Damn. I was hoping to be past that at this point." I complained to Her. Turning back to Bell, I tried again. "Hello Bell, I'm Mordred." I said slowly, extending a hand and felt relieved when he didn't show any confusion. Yes! I didn't fuck up this time.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Mordred." He said… I think.

"Just Mordred, I not old." I looked towards said goddess. "I said that correctly, right?" I asked in all seriousness in english.

"A bit broken but it conveyed what you were going for Mor." She giggled as she glanced towards Bell.

"Ok, good." I sighed as I reverted back to the native language here. I was trying to keep myself from speaking and thinking in English since it didn't really share many of the nuances as the language here, Common I believe its called. "I was… um…" I thought for a minute as I tried to think of the word and quickly snapped my fingers. "Worried, there. I was worried I messed up again."

"If it means a-, you- doing well." Bell said slowly and I blinked.

"I do not understand the two word after means." I said as I looked towards Hestia.

"Anything and you're." She said as the goddess looked at Bell. The boy looked at her for a moment before realizing what he was being cued for..

"Oh, anything. Any-thing. You're, yo-u're" The boy said, saying the words slowly for me so I could learn it.

"Anything, you're." I said, seeing how the word felt on my tongue, saying it in different ways to cement it in my mind. Nodding, I smiled at the two. "Anything, you're. There are today words."

"Today's words." Bell corrected automatically, the boy immediately slapping a hand over his mouth as I glanced at him, his mouth apparently moving a tad faster than his brain just then.

"Today's words." I said. "Thank you, Bell." I nodded at him and the painfully shy by gave a small smile at my encouragement. It's then that it hits me. "A rabbit." Bell and Hestia give me an odd look.

"A rabbit?" Hestia repeats after me, Bell's own red eyes looking at me in curiosity.

"That is what Bell remind me-"

"Reminds me" Corrected Syr and Bell.

"-reminds me of." I said slowly, correcting myself without even missing a beat. "He gave th-" I paused, "me the same feels-"

"Feeling." Thank you Bell and Syr.

"-feeling as a rabbit."

Silence reigned in the room after that, even my coworkers giving me surprised looks. Bell looks at me in shock, Hestia looks like I just revealed the secrets of the universe to her, and the others all just stare at me with mixed looks.

"You know…" Hestia starts as She finally breaks the silence. "I can actually see how you would make that comparison." Bell yells a word that I don't know yet, but is obviously referring to Hestia as his normally pale face turning a very dark red that's coming close to matching the color of his eyes, as the room erupts into fits of laughter and giggles.

"A rabbit…" Anya wheezed between fits of laughter. "That hehehe… oh gods haha… I can see it." The girl was holding her sides as she struggled to breathe.

"It works." Chloe agreed.

"That wa- -ce Mordred." Syr said after recovering for just a few moments.

"Wasn't and nice." Hestia giggled when I sent her a questioning look. I practiced the words as the others calmed down, and Bell stopped doing a very good impression of a Christmas tree. I sent an apologetic smile to the boy in question. "Sorry Bell."

"It is fine mr-, er, no, erm... Mordred." Bell said slowly making sure to speak in simple terms and correct himself as he was about to call me mr. again. Kid is a quick learner. He'll go places.

I smiled and sat back down as I turned my attention back towards the book. Suddenly, I found myself chuckling as I looked at the picture of the white rabbit in the children's book. I suppose I should continue learning about the different kinds of animals. In common. With a sigh I turned the page and nearly jumped out of my skin at the burning red eyes staring me down from the bull in the book. "Just a picture…" I muttered in english, quiet enough that Hestia didn't hear me.

The word for the animal was the largest on the page, just like all the others and a brief little excerpt appropriate for kids on it. It didn't help with the fact that I felt like it was staring at me. I swear the damn thing's eyes were following me. All in all, it just creeped me out. It really didn't help that I didn't really like bulls in general. You'd probably be the same if you saw a bull gouge a man's leg open when you were about 10-ish. I shuddered at the memory. Probably why I don't really have an issue with looking at a whole bunch of gory things.

Quickly turning the page, I slowed my pace again when I saw a cat on the page. Hestia pulled up a chair and Bell sat on the other side of me, taking the spot Syr normally sits. I raised a questioning brow at Hestia who simply shrugged. "Syr said she was busier than normal today and was behind. Bell volunteered."

"Ah." I nodded at the explanation, today was particularly busy. "Thank you Bell." I said to the younger boy.

"It is no problem Mrrrrrrrrordred." Bell replied, fighting the reflex to call me mr. I flashed a smile to the younger boy and got started. Gods, what's a kid like him doing going down into the dungeon risking life and limb? Eh, I'll ask him later. The whole not being able to talk properly is starting to get just as annoying as not knowing the language. I really need to finish learning the language.

"_HIYAH!" My training sword hit my mentor's, the vibrations of the blow traveling up my arm. I hissed in pain, my hands still not used to holding the sword. It didn't take long for me to be pushed back and once again, I was on the floor, a new bruise forming. "Damn it!" I sprung up off the floor and growled. "Again!"_

_My mentor simply looked at me for a moment before nodding. "You've certainly got the drive." He said as he readied his sword again. I was running before he was ready. I swung blindly, wild from fury. And he promptly blocked each and every hit._

"_Why. Can't. I. Hit. YOU!?" I roared, though it came out as more of a childish yell. My voice cracking midway through it only made my anger burn hotter. "AAAAARGUOH!" I was about to swung again, when a kick launched me back._

"_I have told you time and time again M#^0^30 to not let your anger consume you." He scolded me. "Anger can be a powerful weapon when controlled. But let it control you, and you _will_-"_

"_Lose sight of everything, yeah, yeah, I know." I huffed and crossed my arms. "You weren't very honorable with that kick though. I thought you were a knight." I glared at my mentor, the older man giving me a small smile._

"_I was a knight." He corrected me. "Now, I am nothing more than a mercenary." He gave a sad smile as he looked off into the distance, a far away look in his eye. Shaking his head, my mentor brought up his practice sword once more. "Alright, lets go again." He said as he returned to normal. "We only have so long before your mother finds out afterall."_

"_Oh crap!" I scrambled for my sword and quickly started trying to spar my mentor. I really didn't want mother to realize that I was missing!_

"SHIT!" I cursed as once again I landed on my ass. I gasped for air as the wind quickly left my lungs.

"You are still too wild, and your stance is too… narrow." I groaned at the critique. "You are doing better if it helps." Ryuu said as she, quite literally, looked down at me. I'm honestly thankful that she isn't wearing a skirt right now, I like living after all.

"One day…" I say as I slowly get to my feet. "I will win." I promise the elf and blink as Ryuu's lips twitch. Well, I actually made the stoic elf show a bit of emotion. That's a win right there. "Well…" I leveled my training sword again. "Go again?" I asked.

"No." Ryuu shook her head and pointed towards the bar just as Syr was coming over. "No more time."

"Yeah…" I looked up to see that the sun had risen nearly the rest of the way in the sky. It was time for us to help out with lunch. I guess we lost track of time. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt something cool touch my cheek. I turned my head to see Syr smirking as she offered me a cup of water, a pitcher in hand. "Thanks."

"You are welcome." Syr smiled, still speaking slowly for me. "You are getting be-" Syr said and I raised a brow when I heard a word I didn't understand. "More good." Syr supplied with a roll of her eyes.

"Ah, thank you." I said with a smile. "I try." Syr returned a smile as I shrugged and we went inside. "Ryuu, you first?" I offered as the elf walked in, getting a nod in response.

"Thanks." And she walked past me into the bathroom.

"You are welco-and she's gone." I switched to english mid sentence when Ryuu shut the door in the middle of my sentence. "Well…" I raised my arms over my head and stretched. "Got some time to kill. Hi May." I waved to the blonde cook as I walked through the kitchen.

"Hello Mor. Want anything to eat? We have some food left from the morning." May said gesturing towards some unprepared food that we couldn't keep anymore. Modern comforts we may have here, but it's still difficult to keep food long term.

"Yes please." Within the minute, I'm thanking the blonde as I walk to the front of the store, a fried egg sandwich in hand. Bacon, cheese, egg and bread. Yum. Biting into the sandwich, I watched the world go by through the window. Until a mop of white hair enters my field of vision. "Hey, Bell!" The younger boy immediately whipped around towards me, surprise obvious as I scarf down the remainder of my food.

"Mordred! Hello." He gave a slight bow as I walked over to him.

"Off to the dungeon?" I asked him, getting a nod.

"Yes, I am a bit late for today though." Bell admitted.

"Eh, it will happen." I shrug. "You can not make everything on time." I tell the boy before blinking. "That is right. I wanted to ask, why are you an adventurer anyway Bell? It is a danger...ous? Dangerous thing to do for anyone."

My question was simple, but apparently the answer was rather embarrassing if Bell's face was anything to go by. Seriously I didn't know someone could turn that shade of red.

"W-well…" Bell stammered out. "I guess you could say I am looking for something."

"Really? And you will find it in dungeon?"

"In the dungeon." Bell corrected. "But yes, my g- said you could find anything in the dungeon."

I ignored the new word in favor of the new information. "Anything?"

"Yes, no one knows all the secrets the dungeon has." Bell said, growing a little excited. "No one knows what could happen in the dungeon, so anything could happen!" He had fully recovered at this point but he was starting to ramble a bit, and I could only understand every other word.

"Bell, Bell…" I grab his shoulders. "Slow down. Breathe." I say. "In, and out." I watch the young teen take several deep breaths, calming down as he did. "Now, I know a little about the dungeon, enough to know that knows one no-" "No one knows." "-no one knows, thank you, where it came form or how it works. But you said you can find anything in it, right?" I asked, getting a nod.

"Well, that is what I have been told." Bell said, slowing his speech again. I felt something prick the back of my mind and I sighed.

"Alright then, I guess I know what I'm doing next." I said in English before blinking. "Say, are you not late Bell?" I asked the boy, getting an alarmed shout and ramblings in response as he ran. "He is quite fast." I said as I watched him go.

"Not really." I nearly jumped at the sudden voice right next to me.

"JESUS H. CHRIST!" I yelled as I looked over to see Syr giggling next to me. "Do not do that." I said with a slight glare.

"Sorry." She giggled as we walked back into the bar. "I did not mean to. Ryuu wanted me to tell you that the bath is free."

"Right, thanks Syr." I said before pausing for just a brief moment and grinning. Suddenly I wrapped an arm around the silver haired girl getting an eep out of the girl when I brought her in for a one armed hug. Honestly, this is the first time I've felt comfortable enough with someone to come in physical contact like this in… gods, close to a month I think. Well, that is both depressing and happy. With that in mind, I release the girl and walk into the back of the store, not even noticing the blushing and stuttering mess that Syr became.

Within the minute I was soaking in the bath, doing my best to scrub myself clean. Gods I missed having a shower. "Anything, huh." I murmured. I sighed and stopped my scrubbing as I finally focused on what I had shoved to the back of my mind when I first came here. Why? Why was I brought here? How was I brought here? How did I become this? Why did I become this? I didn't have time before to even worry about those kinds of questions, I had to focus on adapting to my new environment. Adapt improvise and overcome. That's what my mother always says. I chuckled. Here I am sitting with what is probably a magically gifted six pack, though it is slowly becoming eight pack, abs and mom struggles to lose weight still.

I quickly frowned at the thought. Gods it feels like forever since I thought about home but it's only been, what two, maybe three weeks? I closed my eyes, sinking further into the water as I thought about it. I… I don't even know if I want to go back. I miss my friends and my parents but… I felt so out of place there. I was so lost. And the minute I arrive here, I find purpose, a drive. Now, I'm starting to settle again, I've fallen into a habit and my drive is fading. Well, right up until now.

I snorted. It's like this word saw me starting to get complacent again and started hanging another carrot in front of me and a means to get it. Or a possible means at the very least. A purpose. Dad always said that people need a purpose. I didn't have one back home. I have several here.

I sighed as I confronted the truth. I didn't want to go home to my friends and family. Did I want to see them? Yes. Do I want to go back to that hollow life I was living? No. Does that make me a bad person? I shook my head, I was getting off track again. Fucking ADD. I didn't want to go home, but I at least wanted to know why and maybe the how to see if I could at least send my family a message. And right now, I only have one clue. Maybe Hestia or the other gods have an idea, but that's a long shot. Then again… they share the names of the gods back home. Either way, I was going to have to talk with Mia.

"The dungeon?" Mia raised a brow at me when I broached the subject. "What do you want to know about that gods for- place?" She said, part of me noting the new word, and guessing forsaken was what she was going for based on context.

"I had heard that you can find anything there." I said as I placed another mug. It was after lunch rush now, and we were prepping for dinner now. I was distracted the whole day. There were no ands ifs or buts about it. Everyone could tell, particularly Mia. She was a bit of a mother hen to those under her care, which included me surprisingly enough. Well, if a mother hen could lift a ton of metal and break it over her knee.

I looked back up towards the dwarf, and yes she is a dwarf, I was surprised too. "I am thank… uhm, thank you for, no, ah, thankful." I nodded to myself. "I am thankful for everything you have done for me, but I… want? No… I need answers." I said. "It is… not likely?" "Unlikely." "Unlikely, thank you, that I will find a way home. But I will… no, I might find out why and maybe a way to at least tell my friends and family I'm fine. So… I want to know what it's like, the dungeon. Is there even a chance at me finding answers there? Who knows, but it's a starting point." I said before quickly smiling. "Besides, I think I can pay you back… better, more? More, pay you back more if I am an adventurer."

Mia looked at me long and hard, the internal debate obvious before sighing. "You do not owe me kid." She reached over and placed a hand on my head, subtely reminding me of the fact that she could break me in fucking two as she did. "You helped Syr, risking your life for a person you could not even talk to, were lost, how could I not help?" The warmth in her voice was apparent, a tone that she often reserved for the girls working for her. It was the first time she had used it with me. It reminded me of how mom used to talk to me.

"But still… part of me saw this coming." Mia said as she removed her hand from my head.

"You did?"

"Yes. The minute I saw you first pick up a sword and ask Ryuu for help, I knew you would go to receive a falna, a blessing." I blinked at that, a little surprised by Mia.

"How did wanting to learn defending myself lead to becoming an adventurer?" I asked genuinely curious.

"First, you messed up a bit there." Mia said calmly correcting me. "Second, it is because you are right. You can find just about anything in the dungeon." My eyes widened at the admittance. "I knew you would find out about that, and because you are not from around here. You didn't even know where you were, and had never heard of Orario, and you will not tell us about your home. The dungeon is where people go for many things. Fame, fortune, power, even women, or men. But just as many come to it for answers."

"Talking from experience?" I asked.

"Heh, at one point, yes." Mia nodded. "But that is a story for another time." I saw the melancholic look in her eye.

"It sounds like a, um… interesting story." I glanced towards Mia to make sure I said it right and got a nod of approval. "But would be better for another day." I said, showing that I understood she didn't want to talk about it.

"But it would be, not but would be." Mia said, getting a grimace from me.

"Damn…"

"But back to our original talk." Mia suddenly said, ending the current conversation. "You want to become an adventurer and you're asking me for permission, right?"

"I… well, kind of." I paused as I thought about what I would say next. "I wanted to look into it more before I had… decided?" I got a nod of approval. "Yes, decided and wanted to ask you about it." I gave a light laugh. "Not that it matters, it looks like my best choice is becoming an adventurer after all. Any advice?" I ask.

"Lots. But if I had to say one thing now, it is that the dungeon is alive." Mia said. "It is always trying to kill you. So, be careful, and do not bite off more than you can chew, even if your goal is right in front of you. What you are looking for, some quest, anything that would let you gain something, it is not worth your life. So make sure you come back, the minute you die is the minute the dungeon wins, the minute you leave is when you win." Mia looked at me, her gaze hard enough to cause me to swallow nervously. "Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." I squeaked out.

"Good. Now get to work. You can go out tomorrow to get fitted for some armor. Talk to Hestia tonight, join Her familia. If there is anyone you owe, it is Her." I blinked at the information, processing it and nodded. I really did owe Hestia as much as I owed Mia. "And when you are ready… tell me. I have something for you before you leave. You will need it." I looked at Mia, confused as I tilted my head. What in the world could she be talking about?

**A/N**

**4871 words. First off, thanks for all the support I'm receiving for the story. I've gotten a lot of positive responses,and I'm not going to lie, they really motivate us writers to keep going with this stuff. Secondly, sorry about not updating in so long, college has decided I'm its bitch so that's been fun. I've also been re-reading the Danmachi series now that I'm starting to officially get into the series. I would have updated sooner, but I already feel like I've rushed a few of these scenes trying to get this out now. I'm going to try and slow down the next few chapters to the pace I was at, but I honestly wanted to get things moving a bit faster here.**

**Speaking of the next few chapters. I've got chapter 8 outlined, which was originally going to be part of this chapter, along with what I have planned for chapter 9, but that would have started getting a bit too long for a single chapter so I'm breaking it up into three chapters. Long story short, I should be updating a bit more this month, especially with spring break coming up. Now, time for some reviews!**

**Blaze2121: I'm not quite doing pre-Bell, Mordred and Bell will have been adventurers for roughly the same amount of time when all is said and done, so I hope that's alright with you**

**StraxyX: I try to update every month at a minimum, but otherwise, it's when I have time. This is a hobby for me, a hobby that I sink hours into mind you, but a hobby all the same.**

**Zasshu: Yeah, I was honestly debating still when I started this on whether I would go with Arthur prototype or a male Mordred, but yes it is a tad funny.**

**Again, thanks for all the support, I'll see you all next time. TJ out!**


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